wi^ 


University  of  California  •  Berkeley 

Purchased  from 

THOMAS  W.  STREETER 
BEQUEST 


So  ^  ^^^uu^^y^^^^^^^ '  £ati4pt<^ 


J^lAAAr^   aO<^K_ 


VI?  \^»  ^ 


WHAT  LIFE  HAS  TAUGHT  ME. 


r— «--W^  ;B  "X"  i^Z^'"'-*--* 


E.  L.  GALLATIN 


IXF 


JNO.    PREDERIC, 

PRINTER.        

DENVER,    COLO. 


PKEFACE. 


A  book,  without  a  title,  would  seem  as  odd  as  the 
sentiments  expressed  in  this  little  book,  and,  strange  to 
say,  the  writer  never  thought  of  a  title  until  the  young 
lady  who  is  typewriting  and  correcting  the  mistakes, 
asked  me  what  title  I  had  selected  for  my  book. 

Well,  a  seventy-two  year  old  amateur  writer  is  liable 
to  get  out  of  line  and  fall  short.  I  suppose  a  book  with- 
out some  name  would  be  like  a  ship  without  a  rudder, 
drifting  and  calling  for  a  tow  line  of  some  friend  to  pull 
it  in.  But,  friends,  this  little  sketch  is  not  expected  to 
go  beyond  those  who  know  the  writer  and  will  not  be  sold 
unless  it  might  be  to  help  some  one  who  needs  help,  but 
I  do  not  flatter  myself  that  it  would  keep  any  one  from 
starving. 

I  might  call  it,  "My  Opinions;"  but  who  cares  for 
our  opinions?  We  all  have  them.  Are  they  worth  read- 
ing? I  could  call  it,  "My  Experiences  in  the  West."  Such 
are  yet  galore.  Old  Father  Wiggins  at  the  Post  Office 
can  give  them  out  by  the  yard,  colored  with  hardships 
and  narrow  escapes  from  Indians.  Captain  Billy  Wise 
is  on  tap  at  any  time  to  be  drawn  out  on  long  marches, 
starvation  and  eternal  vigilance  to  save  his  scalp. 
Dave  Cook,  the  pioneer  detective  and  sheriff,  is  a  liv- 
ing store-house  of  Western  adventure.  So  a  plain  citizen 
that  never  held  any  office,  or  shouldered  a  musket  has 
very  little  to  attract  attention  in  these  days  of  mental 
strain  that  is  upon  our  American  people.     They  are  fever- 


ish  and  want  sensation.  The  plain  truth  is  not  satisfying. 
To  get  the  truth  in  any  subject  before  them  it  must  take 
the  form  of  romance,  well  colored.  They  climb  the 
ladder  of  life  in  leaps.  If  they  fall  in  the  attempt  they 
get  up  and  try  it  again  and  again,  until  old  age  comes  to 
weaken  their  determination  to  become  rich. 

After  some  thought  about  titles  which  might  fit  the 
subject  matter  which  is  miscellaneous  in  its  nature,  I 
have  decided  to  call  it,  "The  Lessons  of  Life,"  or  "What 
Life  has  Taught  Me."  If  my  friends  or  descendants  can 
get  here  and  there  a  thought  that  appeals  to  their  judg- 
ment as  being  worthy  of  their  consideration,  I  will  be 
only  too  glad  to  have  them  use  it.  The  thoughts, 
expressed  in  this  book,  are  my  honest  convictions,  though 
they  may  not  accord  with  yours  in  any  respect.  A  man 
or  woman  without  some  personal  opinions  is  a  blank  and 
must  pass  as  such  until  time  rubs  that  one  up  to  the 
standard  by  which  he  or  she  will  be  known  by  an  individ- 
ual personality. 


INTRODUCTION. 


When  one  writes  a  history  of  one's  own  life,  it  is 
supposed  that  that  one  must  have  something  of  more 
than  ordinary  interest  to  relate  or  must  through  some 
public  capacity  belong  to  History.  This  is  not  necessary, 
however,  if  the  History  is  not  forced  upon  the  public. 
Then  it  is  private  property  as  any  other  effects  that  one 
may  leave  behind.  I,  for  one,  would  be  very  happy  to 
have  a  brief  history  of  the  lives  of  my  own  father  and 
mother  and  of  their  parents  but  they  left  nothing  of 
genealogy  that  can  be  traced  even  one  generation. 

My  father  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and  of  Swiss 
parents.  My  mother  was  born  in  Kentucky,  near,  or  in 
Lexington.  She  was  of  Scotch  descent  and  her  maiden 
name  was  Thompson.  She  was  mari'ied  to  my  father  at 
Lexington,  Kentucky,  and  they  moved  to  St.  Louis,  Miss- 
ouri, when  it  was  a  French  village  in  the  far  west.  My 
father  rode  on  horse  back  across  the  country  on  a  tour  of 
inspection  before  moving  the  family  and  being  satisfied 
returned  and  built  what  is  known  as  a  kiel  boat,  having  a 
sharp  or  rounded  prow  with  roof. 

In  tliis  he  stored  all  his  worldly  effects,  with  the 
family,  and  two  men.  They  floated  down  the  Ohio  river 
to  its  junction  with  the  Mississippi  river  and  from  there 
up  to  St.  Louis.  It  was  a  tug  of  hardship.  With  a  long 
rope  two  men  on  shore  pulled  this  boat  while  one  with  a 
long  pole  kept  it  from  the  shore. 

Steam  boats  were  not  in  fashion  at  that  time  and 
rail  roads  only  in   the    inventor's  dream.     Flat  boats  as 


1/ 


_4_- 

they  were  called  floated  down  the  Mississippi  river  load- 
ed with  all  varieties  of  produc?,  to  New  Orleans.  Such 
boats  were  sold  for  what  the  owners  could  get  when 
unloaded  and  the  crew  would  walk  back  to  points  from 
whence  they  started,  from  eight  hundred  to  twelve  hun- 
dred miles,  and  I  am  creditably  informed,  they  were  so 
used  to  it  that  it  was  not  thought  any  great  hardship  and 
they  would  swing  off  sixty  miles  a  day.  These  clumsy 
home  made  boats  were  very  plenty  up  to  1860,  long  after 
modern  double-engine  steamboats  navigated  all  streams 
large  and  small.  Since  railroads  have  cross-cut  every 
state  and  paralelled  every  river,  the  grand  old  steam  boats 
have  gone  never  to  return.  They  are  too  slow  for  the 
nervous  dyspeptic  American.  Life  is  too  short  to  take 
comfort.  One  must  amass  a  fortune  before  he  is  forty 
and  lose  his  health,  then  travel  to  save  his  life  a  few  years 
longer. 

The  grand  old  river,  the  Father  of  Eivers  in  North 
America,  floated  all  kinds  of  inland  craft,  from  the  small 
trading  boat  to  the  palatial  "steamer  like  the  A.  T. 
Shotwell,  J.  M.  White,  Henry  Chouteau  and  Crystal 
Palace.  Each  could  carry  and  feed  one  thousand  persons 
and  give  them  all  the  comforts  of  a  well  arranged  home. 
They  had  crews  of  sixty  men  to  load  and  unload  goods. 
A  negro  crew  added  much  to  the  life  and  excitement  of 
these  boat  trips,  as  the  negroes  always  had  more  interest 
in  their  work  than  white  men  that  dropped  down  to  the 
low  calling  of  a  deck  hand.  They  would  gather  on  the 
forecastle  and  sing  their  boat  songs  at  night  while  the 
boat  was  gliding  along,  till  the  shore  would  ring  for  miles 
on  either  side.  They  became  adepts  in  loading  bales  of 
cotton.  They  worked  in  pairs  with  bale  hooks  and  made 
the  bales  spin  up    and    down    a    stage  plank  and  landed 


them  with  dexterity  away  up  until  one  could  see  nothing 
but  smoke  stacks  above  the  cotton  bales.  iJeep  down  in 
the  hold  of  the  vessel  were  thousands  of  stacks  of  corn, 
wheat,  oats  and  bacon. 

The  constant  change  of  scenery  and  river  towns  at 
which  the  boats  landed  gave  new  interest  every  hour  of 
the  day.  At  night  after  the  tables  were  cleared  the  boat 
band  of  two  or  three  pieces  would  strike  up  the  music 
and  dancing  commenced  or  songs  were  sung  and  all  were 
made  happy. 

The  bill  of  fare  furnished  on  the  first  class  boats  was 
par  excellent,  fitting  the  taste  of  any  stomach  worshipper, 
from  plain  food  well  cooked  for  the  careful  eater  to  the 
fastidious  epicure.  The  Mississippi  valley,  covering 
millions  of  rich  acres  of  land  which  produced  tropical  and 
semi-tropical  fruits  reaching  northern  products,  made  it 
possible  for  the  traveling  caravansaries  to  fill  any  bill  of 
fare  at  any  time  of  year.  Louisiana  melons,  berries  and 
oranges  could  be  had  while  snow  covered  the  upper 
Mississippi  valley.  Fresh  oysters  in  the  shell  in  barrels 
from  Mobile  Bay,  fresh  and  salt  water  fish,  wild  game 
and  domestic  produce  could  be  obtained  at  almost  any 
landing,  fresh  and  cheap. 

St.  Louis  was  then  the  mart  for  all  the  upper  Miss- 
issippi valleys  and  the  Mississippi  river.  At  her  long 
wharf  could  be  found  boats  from  all  navigable  rivers  that 
fed  the  Father  of  Rivers  from  small  stern-wheel  flat- 
bottom  boats  that  plied  up  and  down  the  Ozark,  Tennessee, 
Columbia,  Illinois  and  Tallahassee  rivers,  to  the  Ohio, 
Missouri  and  upper  and  lower  Mississippi,  monster  steam- 


ers, like  the  John  Simons  and  Ecli 


pse. 


Honest  and  slow  business  men  of  St.  Louis  were  not 
progressive.     They  did  not  see  their  opportunity  of  hold- 


—6-        • 

ing  this  vast  trade  against  their  rival  on  the  lake,  Chicago, 
who  was  ready  to  build  a  rail  road  to  any  point  where  she 
could  increase  her  trade.  She  soon  had  the  largest  grain 
and  stock  market  ia  the  borders  of  our  country,  attracting 
the  attention  of  the  whole  commercial  world  by  her 
aggressive  moves.  Even  New  York  is  in  danger  of  los- 
ing her  laurels  as  the  first  city  in  population  and  s^s  a 
business  center.  Chicago  outbid  her  for  the  World's  Fair 
of  1893,  and  Chicago  outdid  the  world  in  grandeur  and 
massiveness  in  her  preparations;  nothing  like  it  had  ever 
been  put  before  the  world  on  so  large  and  beautiful  a 
scale  as  the  White  City. 

It  was  an  unfortunate  year  for  it.  Dull  times  had 
been  gradually  creeping  on  the  people  since  the  demoniti- 
zation  of  silver  through  the  connivance  of  England  and 
her  bribed  tools,  John  Sherman,  and  others.  By  stealth  it 
was  accomplished  in  1873,  and  in  1893  the  deadfall  came 
in  no  mistaken  manner  The  repeal  of  the  Sherman  act 
by  a  called  session  of  Congress  by  Grover  Cleveland 
knocked  out  the  last  prop  for  silver  and  the  climax  came 
in  July,  when  banks  by  the  dozen  closed  their  doors,  and 
times  have  steadily  grown  worse,  wages  going  down  and 
thousands  out  of  employment  half  the  time,  till  laborers 
can  barely  exist.  This  is  the  object  lesson  Cleveland 
wanted  to  show  the  American  people,  while  he  got  his 
millions  for  carrying  out  the  bargain  made  by  John  Sher- 
man to  sell  his  people  out  to  England. 

John  G.  Carlisle,  one  of  Kentucky's  favored  sons, 
sold  himself  and  turned  traitor  to  his  people  to  be  Grover 
Cleveland's  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  and  carry  out  the 
behests  of  the  money  mongers.  The  poor  miserable 
worm  of  the  earth  is  squirming  under  his  own  repeated 
speeches  made  years  ago.     W.  J.   Bryan  in  his  campaign 


for  the  peoples'  rights,  fired  these  words  back  at  the 
traitor  when  he  spoke  so  well  for  justice  years  ago,  and 
now  would  deny  it  if  he  could  for  gold. 

Benedict  Arnold  or  Aaron  Burr  could  not  hold  a 
candle  as  traitors  compared  with  these  gold  standard  trait- 
ors that  dance  under  the  flag  of  the  Republican  party  and 
rob  the  people.  Their  political  blindness  is  past  all 
understanding  as  to  honest  methods.  In  fact,  honesty, 
with  them,  is  a  by- word.  They  teach  that  every  man  has 
a  price  on  his  head  in  the  matter  of  bribery,  and  with 
this  thought  foremost,  in  their  actions,  they  have  robbed 
the  people  over  and  over  again,  and  still,  they  in  blind- 
ness cry  for  help  and  again  fall  in  the  ditch. 


—8— 
CHAPTEK  I. 

This  day,  September  5tli,  1896,  the  writer  of  this 
little  sketch  has  reached  his  sixty-eighth  mile-post,  having 
been  born  in  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  in  1828. 

While  I  was  very  young  my  parents  moved  to  Mon- 
roe County,  Illinois,  thirty  miles  below  84;.  Louis,  on  the 
banks  of  the  Mississippi  river,  to  hew  out  a  new  home  in 
the  heavy  timber  and  make  a  new  start  in  the  world. 
My  father,  through  a  mistaken  view  of  his  duty  as  a 
friend,  had  allowed  certain  persons  to  prey  upon  him  for 
support  and  signed  notes  and  other  obligations  until  it 
involved  him  so  that  he  lost  all  he  had  in  making  the 
contracts  good.  Then  their  friendship  ended  as  usual  in 
all  such  transactions. 

In  this  double  log  cabin  the  eight  of  us  were  housed. 
A  small  clearing  was  made  and  seeds  were  sown  and  new 
hopes  kindled.  But  Father  became  impatient.  It  was 
too  slow  for  him,  a  man  full  of  activity.  Some  friends 
told  him  of  the  great  possibilities  of  Texas,  then  a  terri- 
tory, ceded  by  old  Mexico  to  some  adventurous  Americans- 
So  he,  with  my  oldest  brother,  Albert  Gallatin,  started 
with  a  herd  of  horses  which,  he  was  told,  would  sell 
for  fabulous  prices.  He  found  this  a  mistake,  but  he 
could  and  did  trade  them  for  a  large  amount  of  line  land. 
But  the  land  in  Texas  was  like  water  in  the  ocean.  It 
had  but  little  value.  There  was  so  much  of  it  that  it 
could  not  be  utilized.  Father  wore  himself  out  on  it,  was 
taken  sick  and  died  about  the  year,  1840. 

My  mother,  my  next  older  brother,  John  T.  Gallatin, 
three  sisters,  Margaret,  Ellen  and  Mary,  and  myself,  the 
youngest  of  all,  moved  across  the  river  to  the  village  of 
Herculaneum,  on  the    Missouri    side,    where  the  family 


— 9— 

managed  to  make  a  living.  As  my  mother  wa#  a  good 
manager  and  a  great  economist,  her  untiring  industry 
managed  to  make  ends  meet.  She  made  all  the  clothes  I 
wore,  of  old  clothes  given  her  and  made  me  look  as  clean 
and  genteel  as  any  of  the  village  boys.  But  like  most 
boys  I  did  not  realize  what  labor  and  anxiety  was  expend- 
ed by  my  mother  for  me,  and  thought  it  hard  that  I  could 
not  go  to  shows  and  have  skates  and  many  things  that 
other  boys  of  my  age  had,  I  could  not  reason  the  matter 
out  then. 

But  I  learned  after  her  death  how  it  was  without  her 
care  for  me.  1  found  that  no  one  took  the  place  of 
mother.  My  brothers  and  sisters  married  and  had  their 
own  family  cares  which  were  about  all  they  could  manage. 
They  were  kind  to  me  and  gave  me  a  chance  to  get  some 
of  such  teaching  as  was  found  in  the  common  country 
school  .during  winter  terms.  I  was  a  poor  student  and 
did  not  make  the  best  of  my  opportunities,  which  I  have 
regretted  all  ray  life. 

At  the  age  of  seventeen  years  I  got  a  situation,  to 
learn  the  saddlers'  trade  with  one  Thornton  Grimsley, 
through  the  influence  of  Mr.  James  Bissel,  a  good 
thoughtful  rich  man,  who  saw  my  need  of  a  trade  and  the 
better  conditions  it  would  bring,  above  that  of  a  common 
day- wage  worker,  with  no  skill,  and  I  shall  never  forget 
his  kindness  in  noticing  me,  a  poor  green  country  boy. 
Grimsley  was  a  peculiar  man  of  very  strong  predjudices, 
likes  and  dislikes. 

He  had  at  one  time  previous  to  my  coming,  a  left- 
handed  Irish  boy  who  was  dull  to  learn  anything,  and 
Grimsley  judged  the  fault  to  his  being  left-handed,  while 
the  fault  was  not  in  his  left  hand  but  in  his  head.     Poor 


—10— 

Pat  Casfty  never  ceased  to  get  all  the  blame  for  every  mis- 
take made  in  the  shop, 

/  This  laid  the  foundation  that  caused  all  coming  boys 
who  might  have  this  misfortune  to  be  barred  from  learn- 
ing the  trade  with  Thornton  Grimsley,  as  he  made  a 
strong  resolution  never  to  have  a  "south-pawed  boy,"  as 
he  termed  the  left-handed.  This  was  my  misfortune  and 
he,  from  some  oversight,  did  not  catechise  me  on  that 
point.  The  boys  soon  saw  my  lameness  and  told  me  that 
if  the  boss  found  that  I  was  left-handed  he  would  certain- 
ly discharge  me.  This  put  me  on  my  guard  and  I  learned 
to  use  all  tools  except  the  hammer  and  table  knife  with 
my  right  hand.  ISo  I  escaped  being  discharged  for  one 
year,  before  he  made  the  discovery  of  my  misfortune,  and 
that  was  when  I  was  not  on  my  guard,  at  the  Sunday 
dinner  table. 

# 
There  were  a  number  of  us  and  he  was  calculating 

how  much  each  one  of  us  was  worth  to  him  in  dollars  and 

cents  and  he  noticed  I  was  using  my  knife  in  my  left  hand. 

He    was    thunder-struck    and     when     he    had    recovered 

enough  to  speak  he  said:     "Sir,    are   you  left-handed?" 

"Yes  sir,"     I  said,  "I  am."     You    can  never  learn  the 

trade,"    he  said.     "Please  give  me  a  chance  to  try,"    said 

I,    "don't  discharge  me."     He  did  not  discharge  me  but 

he  haggled  me  from  that  day  until  two  years  after,  when 

my  apprenticeship  was  out,  until  I  revolted  and  offered 

to  bet  him  ten  dollars  that  I  could  do  anything  that  he 

could  do  and  as  good  and  as  quick.     After  that  I  had 

some  peace  but  he  never  lost  his  predjudice  toward  me. 

In  large  manufactories  one  individual  cuts  a  small 
figure  in  the  personal  sense,  unless  he  fills  some  special 
place  through  his  capability. 


—11— 

I  had  two  men  of  this  character  as  my  friends,  both 
fine  workman,  during  my  four  and  one  half  years  of 
apprenticeship. 

Thomas  Hart,  who  was  killed  at  Palmyra,  Missouri, 
by  a  jealous  husband,  saved  me  from  the  heavy  drudgery 
by  telling  Grimsley  that  it  was  a  shame  to  work  any 
decent  white  boy  so  hard  when  he  had  an  idle  negro  about- 
Mr.  Hart  had  many  noble  qualities  and  was  about  the 
handsoinest  man  I  ever  saw,  six  feet  tall,  straight  as  an 
Indian,  with  fine  form,  splendid  head  and  face,  black 
curly  hair,  eagle  nose  and  black  silky  w^hiskers,  just  heavy 
enough    to    look    handsome,    and    courageous    as    a  lion- 

My  other  friend  was  S.  F.  Currie,  an  older  man, 
laro-e  and  fine  looking  and  mild  in  manner.  He  too  was 
a  fine  character  and  fully  understood  human  nature.  He 
saw  my  difficulty  in  mastering  my  trade  and  would  often 
jose  his  own  time  to  instruct  me  and  help  me  out  of  my 
dilemma.  He  was  one  of  nature's  noblemen.  All  his 
impulses  were  on  the  side  of  the  oppressed  and  he  had  no 
fears  of  doing  right  at  all  times.  He  was  a  model  work, 
man  at  his  trade  but  could  have  filled  almost  any  position 
among  men.  His  and  his  noble  wife's  pictures  in  life 
size  adorn  my  parlor  walls  They  and  their  family  were 
always  my  friends.  Most  of  them  have  gone  to  the  other 
shore  to  continue  their  good  work,  while  I  linger  on  this 
side  awaiting  the  bugle  call. 

Though  I  am  not  extremely  old,  there  are  only  a  few 
of  my  school-mates  left  to  tell  the  story  of  school  days, 
which  shows  how  brief  and  uncertain  is  the  sojourn  on 
this  mundane  sphere  of  which  we  make  so  much  in  all 
our  efforts,  as  though  it  would  last  always.  In  the  thous- 
ands that  are  born  few  reach  old  age,  thousands  are  cut  Off. 
in  childhood. 


—  12— 

The  writer  has  witnessed  the  effects  of  two  wars  in 
oar  country,  and  three  financial  panics,  one  siege  of  the 
Asiatic  cholera  and  the  great  flood  of  the  Mississippi  valley 
in  1844,  and  nev^er  was  seriously  affected  by  any  of  them; 
never  went  without  food  that  was  needed  and  never  went 
raopged;  never  got  so  high  in  life  that  it  would  hurt  him 
to  fall. 

CHAPTER    II. 

After  many  years  of  hard  work  trying  to  scale  the 
r  ladder  that  leads  to  comfort  in  my  native  state,  and  find- 
ing all  my  efforts  abortive,  I  decided  to  try  some  new 
field.  I  had  missed  the  golden  chance  of  California  in  its 
great  mining  days  of  1858  and  '59,  when  many  of  my 
friends  went.  Ten  years  later  when  news  of  the  Pike's 
Peak  gold  discoveries  filled  the  daily  papers  with  vague 
reports,  I  carefully  read  the  letter  writer  of  the  St.  Louis 
Republic. 

/  In  those  letters  there  was  an  expression  of  sincerity 

that  led  me  to  believe  there  was  truth  in  them  and  I  read 
them  to  my  employer,  Mr.  John  Landis  of  Independence, 
Mo.,  and  finally  got  him  interested  to  the  extent  that  he 
fitted  up  two  four- mule  teams  and  loaded  them  with 
saddlery,  such  as,  in  his  judgment,  would  be  salable  in  a 

.     mining  country. 

On  May  28th,  1860,  we  bade  farewell  to  our  friends. 
There  were  five  of  us,  Mr.  Landis,  the  owner,  Lee  Scott, 
Mat  Kelly,  the  experienced  plainsman.  Old  Uncle  Rob,  a 
colored  man,  and  myself. 

Uncle  Rob  was  installed  as  cook,  Scott  and  myself 
took  charge  of  the  rear  team,  Kelly  and  Mr.  Landis  of  the 
front  team  and  we  also  had  an  extra  pony.  Kelly  was 
made  wagon  master,  to  look  for  camping  ground  and  tell 


—13— 

lis  when  to  start  and  stop.  Each  one  was  supposed  to  do 
any  camp  duty  that  came  up  and  not  wait  to  be  told. 
This  I  proceeded  to  do,  in  all  earnestness  to  learn  and  do 
my  duty  and  I  did  it  so  well  that  Kelly  insisted  that  I 
had  done  camp  duty  before  and  could  not  fool  him  by 
saying  I  had  not. 

In  a  few  days  we  were  Joined  by  the  McOlain  broth- 
ers, their  sister,  Mrs.  McCook,  and  a  Milwaukee  banker, 
Peckham  by  name.  They  were  strangers  to  us  but 
wanted  to  travel  with  us  as  we  had  tools  and  repaired 
their  wagon.  Only  one  of  them  had  ever  camped  out  and 
they  filled  Kelly's  sails  full  of  flattery  for  his  good 
management  and  soon  his  Irish  head  began  to  swell  and 
he  had  to  show  his  authority  in  some  way.  He  thought 
Scott  and  myself  the  best  subjects  to  try  it  on,  and  soon 
it  was  impossible  for  us  to  do  anything  to  satisfy  his 
highness.  It  soon  became  too  irksome  to  stand  his  insult- 
inor  actions  with  us  and  our  team,  and  we  talked  the 
matter  over.  Not  wishing  to  get  into  any  unpleasant- 
ness, we  thought  best  to  bear  and  forbear  but  it  grew  day 
by  day  harder  to  stand. 

One  afternoon  Scott  was  too  sick  to  drive  and  it 
devolved  upon  me  to  drive  the  team.  Kelly  had  made 
camp  and  the  lead  team  was  out  of  harness  when  I  drove 
up.  He  opened  on  me  for  making  the  lead  muks  pull 
more  than  their  share  of  the  load.  I  denied  the  charge 
and  he  said  some  cutting  words  which  stirred  me  to  the 
quick  and  I  jumped  off  the  wagon  and  made  for  him  in 
desperation.  He  pulled  in  his  horns  when  others  came 
between  us.  I  said  to  Mr.  Landis,  "You  own  this  outfit 
and  if  you  say  I  am  wrong  I  will  take  my  belongings  and 
pack  them  on  my  back  the  balance  of  the  way  to  Denver. 
I  will  not  stand  such  uncalled  for  insults  from  this  ignor- 


—  U— 

ant  Irishman."  8cott  raised  his  voice  and  said,  "I  will 
go  with  you."  But  we  were  safe  in  our  threat  as  Mr. 
Landis  was  one  of  the  best  men  I  ever  knew,  though  he 
was  always  too  modest  to  assert  himself  until  matters  got 
to  the  worst.  After  that  my  advice  took  precedence  with 
Kelly  and  he  held  me  in  high  esteem. 

JScott  returned  to  Missouri,  went  into  the  rebel  army 
and  was  killed  early;  the  McClain  brothers  and  the  sister 
have  crossed  the  silent  river,  Mr.  Landis  died  two  years 
V  ago  in  his  eighty-fifth  year;  old  Uncle  Rob  died  here  in 
/  Denver  many  years  ago;  Mr,  Peckham,  if  living,  must 
be  ninety-six  years  old;  Kelly  may  be  living.  If  they  are 
dead,  I  am  the  only  survivor  of  that  party  of  nine. 

One  other  incident  I  will  relate  which  came  near 
ending  my  life  on  the  trip.  We  had,  through  the  day, 
passed  a  large  Indian  camp  of  friendly  Arapahoes.  For 
our  night  camp  we  drove  down  near  the  Platte  river,  just 
above  four  other  camps  of  four  teams.  That  was  my 
night  to  stand  guard  and  at  midnight  I  heard  a  great 
racket  at  the  camp  below  us  and  soon  their  teams  broke 
their  fastenings  and  stampeded  toward  our  teams.  I  got 
between  them  and  ours  and  saved  ours  from  doing  like- 
wise. It  was  very  dark  and  I  could  not  discern  any 
human  agency  in  their  hasty  flight  but  it  made  our 
animals  very  uneasy  and  one  mule  kept  up  a  constant 
snorting,  loud  and  strong,  and  kept  those  not  on  watch 
wide  awake,  and  Uncle  Rob,  who  had  crossed  the  plains 
to  California  and  had  some  Indian  experiences,  insisted 
that  the  snorting  mule  smelt  Indians  who  might  be  skulk- 
ing behind  a  clump  of  willows,  or  under  the  river  bank, 
to  steal  something  or  stampede  our  animals.  So  I 
proposed  to  Larry  McOlain  that  we  reconnoitre,  one  go- 
ing along  the  river  bank,  the  other  around  the  willows  and 


—  15— 

meet.  Both  of  us  had  double  barreled  shot  guns  heavily 
loaded.  He  heard  and  saw  me  first  and  called.  I  did 
not  answer  and  he  then  was  ready  to  shoot,  thinking  I 
was  an  Indian  but  he  called  again  and  I  heard  him  and 
saved  my  life.  He  trembled  for  hours  after  that,  feeling 
how  near  he  came  to  shooting  me.  There  were  no  In- 
dians and  our  neighbors  in  the  camp  told  us  that  sonie  of 
them  thought  a  reptile  of  some  kind  had  got  into  their 
buffalo  robes  and  they  were  shaking  them  out  and  stam- 
peded their  own  animals. 

CHAPTER  III. 


On  the  28th  of  June,  thirty  days  from   the  time  we    'f^ 
left  Independence,  we  arrived  in  Denver,  the  great  Eldo-       i 
rado  of  the  mines.      It  was  a  wild,  typical  mining  town?      - 
though    thirty    or  forty  miles  from    any    regular    camp.     \ 
Some  were  sluice  mining  up  the  Platte,  some  at  Boulder, 
along  Clear    Creek  and    Balston    Creek,   but  no  regular 
camps  like  Central  City,  Black  Hawk,  Fairplay,  Georgia 
Gulch,  Breckenridge,  French  and  Galena,  Delaware  Flats, 
and   Nigger  Gulch    or    Russelville,    thirty-five  miles  up 
Oherry  Creek  where  the  first  gold  was  found  by  Green 
Russel,  his  brothers  and  some  friends  from  Georgia. 

They  had  passed  over  this  country  on  their  trip  over- 
land to  California,  ten  years  before.  Not  being  success- 
ful in  California,  they  remembered  the  similarity  of  the 
countries  and  made  up  a  party  and  came  out  in  1858. 
The  gold  up  Cherry  Creek  was  so  fine  that  it  could  not 
be  saved  and  Russelville  was  soon  a  deserted  camp. 

Gambling  in  all  its  glory,  was  the  principal  occupa-         \J 
tion   when  we  came.      Auctioneering  was    the  next  best 
thing.     Everything  that  anyone  (who  did  not  know  Just 
what  he  wanted)  would  be  likely  to  bring  in  a  wagon,  was 


—  16— 

sold  at  auction.     Blake  Street  was  a  perfect  bedlam  of 

voices.      Street  gamblers  with    strap    games,  three  card 

monte,    dice    shaking,    and   band     playing    in  gambling 
houses  full  of  games  of  every  device 

The  bottom  ground  all  along  the  Platte  River  and 
Cherry  Creek  was  covered  with  camps  of  tents  and 
wagons.  We  camped  where  the  Union  Depot  now 
stands,  under  some  large  cottonwood  trees.  We  soon  had 
a  small  store  built,  opened  business  and  from  the  first 
day,  did  a  good  fair  business. 

Our  mail  came  by  express,  stage  line,  run  by  Majors 
Russell  and  Waddell,  a  large  freighting  firm  from  Lex- 
ington, Mo.  Our  letters  cost  us  twenty-five  cents  each  in 
cash.  Two  rows  of  people  nearly  a  block  long  formed 
to  take  their  turn  to  ask  for  a  letter  and  could  not 
ask  for  but  one  person  at  a  time,  and  must  go  to 
the  back  end  of  the  line  and  come  up  for  every  name 
called  for,  and,  if  they  could  be  insulted  with  mean 
questions  of  how  they  spelled  their  names,  etc.,  one  John 
Filmore  would  surely  do  it.  He  seemed  to  take  delight 
in  it.  In  after  years  he  became  quite  a  speculator  in 
Denver  real  estate,  as  he  had  the  use  of  Uncle  Sam's 
money,  being  quarter  master  for  this  military  district. 
During  a  heavy  wind  storm  he  became  excited  and  burst 
a  blood  vessel  and  died  very  suddenly.  The  estate  was 
large  but  the  government  demanded  reimbursement  for 
the  money  he  had  used  in  its  purchase. 

During  the  summer  and  fall  of  1860,  the  desperadoes, 
of  which  there  many,  got  to  shooting  people  and  a  regular 
band  of  robbers  was  organized  under  a  lawyer  by  the 
name  of  Ford,  and  matters  got  so  rank  that  a  Vigilance 
Committee  was  formed  to  check  their  high  handed  work, 
and  hanging    was  made  the   order  of  the  day  or  night. 


-  -17— 

Ford  thought  things  might  be  complicated  for  him  and 
attempted  to  take  leave  of  absence,  hired  a  man  to  take 
him  out  twenty  miles  on  the  coach  road  going  East  and 
waited  for  the  stage  to  come,  had  his  fare  paid  and  seat 
secured,  boarded  the  coach  but  had  gone  only  a  few  miles 
when  some  men  on  horse  back  halted  the  coach  and  called 
for  Ford  to  step  out,  which  he  did,  no  doubt  with  fearful 
expectations  of  what  was  in  store  for  him.  They  ordered 
the  driver  to  go  on  and  not  stop  and  he  obeyed  with 
alacrity.  That  was  the  last  ever  seen  of  Ford  by  any  one 
outside  of  the  committee.  His  personal  effects,  money, 
watch  and  pistol  were  sent  to  his  wife- 
Young  James  Gordon  was  tried  and  hung,  by  this 
committee,  for  killing  an  inoffensive  German  who  hap- 
pened to  come  in  his  way  while  on  a  wild  spree.  One 
James  Steel  and  Carl  Wood  were  blood  thirsty  and,  while 
in  a  drunken  orgie,  fired  into  the  Rocky  Mountain  Kews 
office,  located  then  on  HoUiday  (now  Market)  and  14th 
Sts.  Steel  got  a  return  shot  from  the  office  which 
wounded  him  in  one  arm.  He  was  on  horse  back  and 
went  down  the  creek  bed  to  get  out  of  range  of  their  shots. 
Wood  rode  up  the  Platte.  Steel  took  a  circuit  and  came 
up  16th  to  Blake  St.  Here  he  was  met  by  a  number  of 
men  in  search  of  him.  Two  were  on  horseback,  with 
double  barreled  guns.  When  some  one  shouted,  "Here 
he  is,"  one  of  the  men  on  horseback  turned  and  shot 
Steel.  The  horse  made  a  plunge  and  Steel  fell  a  dead 
man.  The  writer  was  an  eye  witness  to  this.  Thomas 
Pollock  did  the  shooting. 

Carl  Wood  returned  and  in  a  few  days  was  called  out 
of  his  cabin  by  a  crowd  and  they  were  making  good  time 
for  some  cottonwood  trees  about  the  place  where  the  16th 
St.  viaduct    commences    at    Wazee    St.      But    they  were 


—  18  — 

halted  at  16th  and  Blake  Sts.  by  old  Major  Bradford,  who 
was  well  acquainted  with  Wood's  father,  a  fine  man  and 
a  district  judge  in  Lexington,  Mo.  Bradford  and  Dr. 
McDowell  plead  to  save  the  young  scamp's  life  and  suc- 
ceeded. He  was  tried  and  sentenced  to  banishment  from 
the  country.  He  went  south,  joined  the  rebel  army  and 
has  become  a  steady,  good  citizen,  travels  for  some  large 
house  in  St.  Louis,  but  has  never  come  to  Denver  to  make 
sales. 

In  the  fall  of  1860,  people  who  had  no  settled  business 
here,  began  to  take  the  road  back  East.  The  writer  was 
expected  to  go  with  the  stream  turned  homeward,  but  to 
their  great  surprise,  he  refused  to  be  one  of  them.  "Why 
will  you  stay  here  and  starve  and  freeze  to  death?"  some 
said.     I  said,  "Here  is    where  I  will  stay,  live  or  die." 

Not  long  after  Mr.  Landis,  with  whom  I  came,  turned 
over  to  me  the  remainder  of  his  stock  of  saddlery  and 
some  provisions  and  told  me  to  do  the  best  I  could  to  meet 
expenses  until  he  came  back  the  next  year,  and  I  did  fairly 
well,  became  an  expert  cook  and  always  washed  my  own 
dishes  after  eating,  departing  from  the  usual  bachelor 
habit  of  letting  them  go  till  they  got  so  foul  that  tliey 
could  stand  it  no  longer. 

The  spring  and  summer  of  1861  were  fearfully  dull. 
The  placer  mines  were  not  paying  and  the  lead  mines 
about  Central  City  had  struck  a  cap  rock  that  no  one  had 
gone  through  to  know  how  thick  it  was  or  whether  they 
would  find  the  pay  vein  or  not  after  they  did  go  through. 

Matters  looked  very  doubtful  for  all  classes  of  people. 
Some  were  in  a  desperate  dilemma.  Living  was  high  and 
the  hauling  of  all  that  we  had  six  hundred  miles  by  team 
added  greatly  to  its  cost.  All  depended  upon  the  mines 
and  the  mines  were  flat  as  a  pancake. 


- 19 - 

Actual  war  had  commenced  in  the  East  and  our  lead- 
ing merchants  saw  their  chance  of  raising  and  outfitting 
a  regiment  of  volunteers,  without  orders  from  Uncle  8am 
and  took  chances  of  his  endorsing  their  movement. 
William  Gilpin  was  governor  by  appointment  and  he  lent 
his  aid  in  this  move  and  vouchers  were  issued  for  all 
supplies  furnished  by  the  merchants  and  the  recruiting 
commenced  and  many  a  tramp  got  his  empty  stomach 
iilled  and  a  place  to  sleep,  on  the  ragged  edge  of  hope,  far 
from  his  home  and  friends. 

Camp  Weld  was  established  about  where  the  Lake- 
wood  road  crosses  the  Platte.  These  valiant  soldiers  had 
not  been  recognized  by  the  government  and  they  had  no 
uniforms,  and  not  very  good  supplies  of  any  kind.  So 
they  made  a  raid  on  a  Jew  Urm  on  what  was  then  Ferry 
St.  (now  10th  St.)  and  they  receipted  for  all  they  took. 
Whether  they  ever  got  their  pay  I  am  not  aware.  They 
wanted  some  leather  belts,  and  called  on  me  as  Mr.  Landis' 
agent  to  furnish  them  for  vouchers.  This  I  refused  to  do 
by  the  order  of  Mr.  Landis  who  said  he  had  all  the  vouchers 
he  could  stand. 

To  carry  out  this  refusal  on  my  part  caused  them  to 
make  a  raid  on  our  place  and  take  what  they  wanted  at 
night.  Myself  and  a  boy  were  repairing  harness  for  the 
transpoi'tation  company  that  was  hauling  their  supplies 
when  one  hundred  men  entered  the  store,  two  with  drawn 
pistols.  It  looked  rather  formidable  for  one  man  and  a 
boy  to  meet  them.  Their  colonel,  a  dead  beat,  by  the 
name  of  Slough,  had  made  a  debt  of  |35.00  with  Mr. 
Landis,  which  he  gave  me  strict  orders  to  collect  if  possible, 
and  I  went  after  him  with  a  business  intent  and  it  made 
him  mad,  and  he  talked  and  I  talked  back  in  no  uncertain 


—  20— 

way  and  he  paid  me  to  stop  publicity  which  I  threatened 
him  with. 

He  paid  me  in  gold  dust  which  I  had  not  emptied 
out  of  the  blower  when  in  came  this  mob  and  tilled  the 
store.  Protesting  against  so  many  men  to'  handle  one 
man  and  a  boy  the  leaders  gave  orders  for  them  to  go  out. 
They  had  stolen  the  gold  dust  and  several  other  valuable 
articles  which  1  could  not  detect  among  such  a  mob.  I 
took  some  articles  away  from  them  which  I  saw  them  take. 
They  searched  the  store  for  belts  and  leather  and  could 
not  find  what  they  wanted  so  took  a  lot  of  girth  webbing, 
in  all  amounting  to  ^35.00  and  gave  me  a  receipt,  which 
I  demanded.  This  with  what  they  stole  amounted  to  near 
$100.  Of  this  Mr.  Landis  never  recovered  a  cent.  The 
puny  excuse  was  that  he  lived  in  Missouri  and  was  a 
sympathizer  with  the  8outh.  Some  scamp  put  that  much 
in  his  own  pocket  and  there  were  plenty  of  very  loyal 
citizens  there  that  were  robbing  the  government  hand 
over  fist. 

This  valiant  Colonel  Slough  proved  himself  a  coward 
and  tyrant  before  they  got  two  hundred  miles  from  Denver 
and  when  he  got  near  where  they  supposed  they  would 
meet  the  Texas  troops  under  Gen.  Sibley,  the  poltroon 
resigned  and  came  back  to  Denver  and  begged  Gen.  Frank 
Marshall,  who  was  coming  home,  to  protect  him  from  the 
people  along  the  road  over  which  he  had  gone  with  troops 
and  he  could  treat  them  like  dogs.  He  was  appointed 
provost  marshal  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  was  after- 
ward killed  at  Santa  Fe,  N.  M.,  by  a  IJ.  S.  army  officer 
for  some  of  his  dirty  work. 

J.  M.  Chivington,  a  Methodist  preacher,  was  Slough's 
successor  in  command,  a  man  of  little  better  principles 
but  not  a  coward  though  he  did  one  of  the  most  cowardly 


—21- 

acts  that  any  human  being  ever  did  when  he  led  the 
volunteers  to  kill  Indians  at  Sand  Creek.  They  were  there 
with  their  families  by  his  orders  to  await  orders  from 
Washington  for  a  treaty. 

Men,  squaws  and  helpless  children  were  murdered 
under  this  man's  orders,  he  claiming  to  carry  the  cross  of 
Christ.  No  savages  ever  did  more  savage  acts  than  these 
men  that  were  named  the  pet  lambs  of  Colorado.  Such 
lambs  must  have  had  she-wolves  for  mothers.  For  this 
dastardly  act  Chivington  was  cashiered.  He  should  have 
been  hung.  He  and  Slough  may  get  their  dues  beyond 
the  power  of  man  to  shield  them  from  justice.  They  are 
tliere  to  meet  what  may  come,  which  is  only  conjecture 
on  our  part. 

In  1863  Mr.  Landis  made  Francis  Gallup  and  my- 
self a  proposition  to  buy  him  out,  which  we  accepted,  and 
the  firm  name  was  E.  L.  Gallatin  <fe  Co.,  until  changed 
in  1865  to  Gallup  &  Gallatin,  when  I  went  East  to 
establish  a  branch  firm  called  Gallatin  tfe  Gallup  at 
Nebraska  Oity,  Neb.,  which  was  at  that  time  the  principal 
team  freisfht  exit  for  the  far  west. 


CHAPTER  lY. 

In  the  winter  of  1864  I  made  a  trip  to  Montana  with 
two  loads  of  saddlery  and  started  in  the  middle  of  March. 
No  more  unpropitious  time  could  have  been  selected  in 
this  mountain  altitude.  Winter  or  bad  weather  comes 
as  much  after  the  middle  of  March  as  before.  All  precip- 
itation comes  in  snow  well  into  May,  while  we  may  have 
but  little  winter  until  after  Christmas.  We  had  to  pass 
over  the  Laramie  plains  which  is  a  hip;h  table  land  with 


—22— 

sweeping  winds  nearly  the  entire  year  and  w^here  it  can 
snow  on  shorter  notice  than  in  any  part  of  the  West. 

One  bright  morning  we  were  on  the  road,  a  short 
distance  from  old  Fort  Hallack  when  all  at  once  the  air 
was  filled  with  driving  snow  that  filled  our  eyes  and  ears 
full  and  covered  up  the  roa,d  so  that  it  was  about  all  we 
could  do  to  keep  in  the  right  direction.  I  took  the  job  of 
piloting  the  teams  by  walking  ahead.  When  we  got  into 
Fort  Hallack  we  could  not  tell  where  we  were,  only  by 
hearing  voices  close  by.  We  could  not  see  a  house.  The 
soldiers  guided  us  to  a  willow  grove  where  we  camped 
until  next  morning  when  all  was  bright  and  fair.  People 
soon  perish  in  these  cold  driving  snows  without  some 
protection.  They  almost  take  one's  breath  and  chill  one 
to  the  marrow. 

After  passing  over  Rattlesnake's  pass,  and  digging 
our  animals'  way  through  drifts,  we  passed  down  to  the 
north  Platte  river  to  learn  that  Bridger's  pass  was  impass- 
ible for  loaded  teams.  The  stage  made  its  daily  trips  over 
the  beaten  road  of  snow  ten  and  fifteen  feet  deep.  We 
camped  at  the  Platte  ten  days. 

We  heard  that  the  pine  grove  up  near  the  Pass  had 
better  feed  for  stock.  One  wagon  and  all  the  stock  was 
taken  up  there,  leaving  myself  and  wife  at  Sage  Creek  to 
look  after  the  other  wagons.  We  stayed  there  ten  days, 
not  hearing  a  word  from  the  men.  They  had  gone  over 
the  pass  to  Sulphur  Springs  and  the  heavy  snow  had 
stopped  the  coach  for  a  number  of  days.  Its  first  trip 
brought  me  a  note  explaining  what  they  had  done. 

At  Sulphur  Springs  I  lost  my  second  horse  for  the 
lack  of  attention  and  the  lean  condition,  which  I  could  not 
help,  as  grain  could  not  be  had  for  love  or  money.     I  offered 


—tS— 

20c  a  pound  for  oats  or  corn.  We  cut  grass  on  the  hill 
side  with  a  butcher  knife  and  sprinkled  flour  on  it  for 
the  animals. 

We  went  down  Bitter  Creek,  eighty-five  miles  long, 
with  nothing  but  alkali  water,  so  strong  that  lemon  essence 
would  not  change  its  taste.  All  but  myself  were  about 
sick  when  we  got  to  Green  river.  There  we  got  good 
water  and  bought  a  horse. 

We  went  on  to  Hanns  Fork.  Soon  after  we  had 
turned  out  for  the  night,  three  teams  came  up  to  us  and 
the  young  man  in  charge  said  to  me:  "Why  did 
you  stop  on  this  side  of  the  stream?"  I  told  him 
that  my  animals  were  weak  and  tired  and  we  thought 
it  would  be  better  to  cross  in  the  morning.  He  said 
the  stream  might  come  up  in  the  night  and  it  would 
be  safer  to  be  on  the  other  side.  1  admitted  that  his  argu- 
ment was  good,  and  he  said:  "If  you  will  wait  until  we 
cross  over  I  will  send  teams  to  pull  your  wagon  over."  I 
gladly  accepted  his  kind  offer.  After  we  were  all  safely 
across,  1  said:  "There  is  a  saying,  one  good  turn  deserves 
another,  that  being  granted,  can  you  let  me  have  one  sack 
of  oats  until  we  get  to  Bridger's?  There  I  have  some 
engaged  and  will  pay  you  back."  "Yes,  certainly,"  he 
said,  and  out  came  the  oats.  I  never  was  made  so  happy 
as  to  see  those  poor  brutes  munching  those  oats  and  the 
kindness  of  this  entire  stranger  made  a  great  impression 
on  us  all  after  seeing  so  much  selfishness  all  along. 

One  man  charged  me  $5.00  for  ten  minutes'  work 
pulling  one  wagon  out  of  the  mud.  I  had  worked  half  a 
day  to  get  one  man  out  who  was  loaded  with  money  safes 
which  could  not  be  unloaded  and  he  did  not  thank  me  for 
it,  after  I  had  broken  an  evener  that  cost  $1.50.  Another 
would  not  sell  me  a  pound  of  oats  and  let  me  pay  for  them 


—  24— 

and  insure  that  he  could  get  them  back  at  Bridger  on  my 
order,  and  he  had  plenty  to  last  him,  but  this  young  man? 
James  M.  Bibb  ins  had  a  heart  and  soul.  He  would  not 
go  on  and  leave  me.  The  wagons  were  loaded  with  miners' 
boots  and  shoes,  pressed  into  the  wagon  beds  and  decked 
over,  for  Guerney  &  Co.,  of  Central  City. 

We  reached  Fort  Bridger  and  there  it  was  planned 
for  Mr.  Bibbins  to  go  by  Salt  Lake  City.  Money  was  to 
be  sent  there  to  meet  the  balance  of  the  expenses.  He 
learned  that  it  was  125  miles  out  of  his  w^ay  to  go  there 
and  telegraphed  for  the  money  and  it  had  not  arrived. 
He  was  in  a  dilemma  as  to  what  course  to  pursue.  He 
wanted  ^200  in  cash  and  some  other  supplies,  amounting 
to  something  over  $300,  and  in  this  supply  store  was  a 
young  man  by  the  name  of  Byron  Scott  that  I  had  known 
in  Denver,  and  he  said  to  Mr.  Bibbins:  "If  Gallatin  w^ill 
go  your  security,  we  can  let  you  have  all  you  want."  He 
came  out  to  camp  and  said:  "You  can  do  me  a  favor  if 
you  w^ill."  "Name  it"  said  I,  "and  if  I  refuse  take  tliis 
whip  and  lash  me  to  your  heart's  content."  He  told  me 
what  he  wanted  and  we  went  up  to  the  store  and  I  said: 
"I  am  only  too  glad  to  do  this  man  any  favor  in  my  lim- 
ited power." 

He  got  what  he  wanted  with  my  word,  and  we 
journeyed  on  together  to  Soda  Springs.  There  he  divided 
his  teams;  he  going  to  Boise  City,  Idaho,  the  other  teams 
to  Virginia  City,  Montana,  where  the  firm  had  a  store. 

When  we  got  to  Virginia  City  I  found  friends  from 
Independence,  Mo.,  who  helped  me  get  a  store  room  and 
a  place  to  live  in,  and  in  six  wrecks  I  had  sold  out  and  was 
ready  to  come  home. 

I  had  done  exceedingly  well  with  my  goods,  getting 
good   prices    and   ready    sales  in  gold,  which  was  worth 


—25— 

$2.80  in  greenbacks.     At  one  time  we  got  $2.40  for  ours 
on  a  declining  market. 

Sunday  was  our  great  business  day.  The  town  was 
full  to  the  street  centers,  of  miners  laying  in  supplies. 
They  had  rid  themselves  of  the  bad  element  by  lynch  law. 
They  had  hung  eighteen  before  w^e  got  there,  and  one 
need  have  no  fear  of  any  one  of  these  stealing  anything; 
all  were  honest. 

As  soon  as  I  announced  my  intention  of  coming  back 
to  Denver,  M.  E.  Post,  a  young  man,  who  had  his  own 
team  and  traveled  with  me  on  the  out  trip,  came  and 
wanted  to  come  back  with  me  and  my  wife.  I  consented, 
as  a  new  element  of  danger  was  to  be  encountered  on  our 
return,  that  was  not  visible  when  we  went  out. 

What  were  called  road  agents  had  formed  a  band  to 
rob  people  coming  out  from  the  mines  in  the  stage  or  in 
wagons,  and  further  on  the  Indians  had  broken  peace  and 
were  making  things  warm  from  Bridger  all  the  way  to 
Denver  and  down  the  Platte  and  the  Arkansas  rivers  for 
several  hundred  miles.  So  my  friends,  O.  C.  Coggswell, 
Ohas.  Wilson,  John  Podgers  and  others  said  I  must  not 
attempt  going  down  alone. 

The  Perry  Brothers  had  a  large  mule  train  which 
would  go  in  a  few  days  and  they  said  they  would  notify 
us  when  to  come  out  to  camp  for  a  start  and  they  did,  but 
that  night  by  carelessness  a  lot  of  mules  got  away  and  we 
waited  until  noon,  and  some  time  after,  we  got  out  of 
patience  and  started  alone  and  came  through  all  right. 

We  had  about  eight  thousand  dollars  in  gold  with  us. 
The  next  stao-e  out  was  robbed  of  ten  thousand  dollars. 

o 

We  came  to  Salt  Lake  City,  and  there  on  Emigrant 
Square  were  eight  wagons    without  teams;    the  Indians 


—26— 

had  stampeded  their  stock,  taken  two  or  three  women, 
and  they  had  gotten  some  freighter  to  haul  their  wagons 
into  Salt  Lake.  I  sold  some  mules  and  a  heavy  wagon, 
bought  a  light  wagon  and  put  on  ponies  for  the  trip 
home.  Five  wagons  joined  us  coming  East,  and  the  first 
day  out  differed  on  roads  that  forked  but  led  to  the  same 
destination.  Fort  Bridger.  So  we  left  them  and  got  there 
one  day  ahead  of  them.  At  Green  River  we  found  three 
teams  waiting  for  reinforcements,  and,  seeing  two  men 
and  one  woman  alone,  took  courage  and  came  along.  We 
made  them  promise  to  travel  as  we  did,  for  our  company, 
but  they  soon  broke  over  the  agreement,  and  we  slid  out 
early  in  the  morning  and  kept  ahead  of  them.  We  would 
not  camp  near  a  stage  station.  We  got  up  at  four  in  the 
morning  and  traveled  until  ten,  then  got  our  breakfast, 
took  a  good  rest  and  traveled  until  four  in  the  afternoon, 
had  another. meal  and  regt,  then  traveled  until  after  dark, 
and  did  not  make  a  fire  but  ate  a  cold  lunch  and  went  to 
bed. 

The  only  time  we  felt  any  alarm  was  one  morning 
early,  after  we  had  crossed  the  North  Platte.  We  saw 
five  men  on  horseback,  so  far  away  that  we  could  not  tell 
whether  they  were  Indians  or  w4iite  men  and  they  were 
evidently  coming  toward  us.  We  looked  our  guns  over 
carefully  and  said  if  they  were  Indians  we  must  do  our 
best,  but  they  soon  got  near  enough  for  us  to  see  they 
were  white.  They  had  gone  out  of  the  road  to  camp  and 
had  to  follow  a  ravine  that  they  could  not  cross  and  that 
brought  them  toward  us.  We  felt  relieved  and  relaxed 
our  vigilance. 

We  came  through  where  Laramie  City  now  stands. 
There  was  a  stage  station  kept  by  Rockey  Thomas.  We 
had  traveled  all  night  with  a  colicky  horse  that  we  had  to 


—27— 

keep  moving,  so  thought  it  best  to  travel  toward  home, 
and,  knowing  Thomas,  I  said:  "Can  yon  give  us  a  good 
square  meal  and  our  horses  some  hay?"  "No,"  he  said? 
"got    nothing    to    eat."     "Well,    we  will  stop  and  see." 

His  wife  made  some  of  the  best  biscuits  I  ever  ate. 
He  had  some  fresh  antelope  that  he  broiled  and  buttered 
until  nicely  done.  They  had  some  Denver  potatoes,  plenty 
of  milk  and  butter  and  we  had  about  the  best  tasting  meal 
that  we  had  eaten  in  a  loner  time. 

We  read  the  Denver  papers  and  heard  of  a  great 
Indian  scare  when  a  man  bythe  name  of  Shortridge  came  in 
at  night,  yelling  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  "Look  out,  white 
man,  the  Indians  are  coming,"  which  caused  a  big  alarm. 
The  families  were  gathered  into  the  old  Mint  building,  cor- 
ner of  Market  and  Sixteenth  Sts.  and  the  Doyle  building  in 
West  Denver.  It  was  a  big  scramble  for  safety  and  all  a 
false  alarm  caused  by  some  Mexican  freighters  yelling 
just  over  the  ridge  from  where  some  settlers  were,  that 
did  not  see  them  but  put  this  man  on  a  fleet  horse  to  give 
the  alarm  in  Denver. 

However,  they  were  not  going  to  be  scalped  and  held 
a  meeting  the  next  day  to  devise  some  way  of  defence  and 
concluded  to  tear  down  all  the  log  houses,  no  matter  to 
whom  they  belonged,  and  build  block  houses  along  on  the 
high  ground,  and  they  detailed  clerks  and  everybody  to 
do  this  work  and  soon  the  hill  was  strewn  with  logs,  but 
never  one  of  them  laid  up  and  after  a  time  all  hauled 
away  by  any  and  everybody.  They  told  some  funny  jokes 
about  the  brave  demeanor  of  some  of  Denver's  best 
citizens. 

From  Laramie  we  came  across  through  Cheyenne 
Pass  to  Cache  la  Poudre,  thence  along  the  old  stage  road 


—28— 

to  Denver.  We  did  not  see  a  fresh  wagon  track  until  we 
had  passed  the  Big  Thompson  Creek.  There  had  been  a 
most  bountiful  rain  fall.  The  grass  was  hne  and  grew 
right  up  to  the  road  side  in  abundance,  and  there  was 
nothing  to  eat  it. 

At  Big  Thompson  there  lived  a  Mexican  guide  by 
the  name  of  Mercama,  who  was  quite  a  chai-acter,  loved 
to  make  a  show  in  his  gay  trimmed  apparel,  hue  horse  and 
gay  trappings,  but  he  loved  whiskey  above  all  things  and 
it  was  his  wagon  tracks  that  marked  the  soil  on  his  way 
for  a  new  supply  of  the  ardent.  Eight  miles  out  from 
Denver  we  met  a  Jew  with  three  teams,  venturing  out. 
We  got  home  September  1st,  1864. 

CHAPTER  y. 

The  marks  of  Cherry  Creek  flood  were  plain  and  we 
had  to  move  our  house,  which  stood  just  west  of  the 
Union  Depot,  up  to  Champa  between  Fifteenth  and  Six- 
teenth Sts. 

We  were  soon  notified  to  attend  an  Indian  protection 
meeting  which  seemed  very  silly,  when  two  men  and  one 
woman  had  come  six  hundred  miles,  through  an  infested 
country,  and  had  not  seen  a  sign  of  an  Indian.  They  were 
making  it  warm  for  the  freighters  down  the  Platte,  and 
for  a  time  an  escort  had  to  travel  with  the  stage.  At  one 
time  our  mail  came  around  by  California.  Volunteers 
were  raised  and  all  business  men  were  taxed  to  maintain 
those  held  on  duty.  Our  freight  bills  were  very  high,  the 
risk  was  so  great.  We  paid  $3,000  on  a  bill  of  goods  that 
cost  only  $10,000,  22c  a  pound.  That  would  make  a  one 
hundred  pound  sack  of  flour  cost  $22  for  freight. 

My  home  companion,  M.  E.  Post,  went  to  St.  Joseph, 


—29— 

Mo.,  bought  four  teams  and  loaded  his  own  goods  for 
Denver,  got  through  all  right,  sold  his  goods  and  teams, 
all  but  one  and  sent  his  men  back  with  that  team.  They 
were  attacked  by  Indians,  two  of  them  were  killed,  the 
team  was  taken,  the  wagon  was  burned  and  two  were 
wounded  but  escaped.  Had  they  been  on  their  guard 
this  would  not  have  occurred. 

The  Hungate  family  were  all  murdered  out  on  the 
Kiowa.  There  was  no  safety  for  life  or  stock.  All  this 
trouble  was  brought  on  by  some  young  fool  white  man 
shooting  an  Indian  to  see  how  far  he  could  kill  one,  just 
for  fun,  as  he  would  shoot  a  buffalo  that  he  did  not  need 
to  kill. 

Indians  are  not  always  to  blame  by  a  long  shot.  Their 
rights  should  be  respected,  and  justice  accorded  them  by 
by  our  people  and  government,  then  we  would  have  less 
trouble  with  them  and  we  could  better  teach  them  civil- 
ization than  to  kill  them. 

Through  the  summer  of  1865  the  Indians  were 
passive,  occasionally  jumping  on  some  one  when  they  were 
in  need  of  essentials,  as  our  own  people  would  do  under 
similar  circumstances,  and  doit  daily  in  the  time  of  peace. 
If  they  do  not  take  what  they  want  by  force  they  take  it 
by  strategy,  or,  gaining  one's  confidence,  then  rob  one 
by  law.  No  real,  full-blooded  Indian  would  stoop  so  low, 
and  do  such  underhanded  tricks  to  get  the  best  of  his 
fellow  man,  as  do  thousands  of  so-called  Christian  gentle- 
men. 

In  the  summer  of  1865  a  new  stage  line  was  estab- 
lished by  Butterfield,  on  the  Smoky  Hill  route,  and  the 
first  coach  caused  a  bigger  sensation  than  a  new  railroad 
from  Old  Mexico  would  now. 


\ 


—30— 

I  was  just  recovering  from  a  long  and  serious  sickness 
and  my  wife  led  me  to  our  door  on  Champa  St.,  to  look  up 
Fifteenth  St.,  and  see  the  procession,  headed  by  the  new 
coach,  trimmed  for  the  occasion.  It  did  not  run  long  on 
account  of  financial  complication. 

The  famous  Ben  Halliday  was  running  the  old  line 
across  the  continent. 

After  I  had  partially  recovered  my  wife  was  taken 
sick,  caused  by  taking  care  of  me,  but  Dr.  Treat  brought 
us  both  out.  We  thought  a  trip  to  the  Missouri  Kiver 
in  a  wagon  would  make  us  well  and  strong,  so  we  got  into 
our  pony  wagon  and  started  out  on  the  old  cut-off,  and 
when  we  passed  the  old  cemetery  we  said,  "We  have 
cheated  you  out  of  two  subjects,  good  by." 

That  night  it  was  all  I  could  do  to  unharness  the 
ponies  and  feed  them  and  get  a  little  supper. 

The  next  day  we  overtook  Myers  Fischer  who  had 
ten  four-mule  teams  and  thirty-five  men.  He  was  taking 
them  back  for  some  freighter.  He  also  had  his  father, 
mother,  two  brothers  and  one  sister,  so  it  made  a  pleasant 
crowd.  The  weather  was  nice  and  no  anticipation  of 
trouble  from  our  red  brothers,  as  they  had  been  very  quiet 
and  troops  were  scattered  along  the  route  to  keep  large 
trains  together  for  self  protection. 

One  day  we  saw  the  telegraph  wire  out  and  hundreds 
of  fresh  pony  tracks.  They  had  thrown  a  lariat  over  a 
pole  and  pulled  it  down  and  filed  the  wire  in  two.  We 
knew  then  the  ball  was  open  for  business,  and  we  must  be 
on  the  alert,  travel  close  together,  and  have  a  weather  eye 
out  for  redskins. 

We  had  passed  a  company  of  mounted  soldiers  that 
forenoon  in  camp.     We  had  not  gone  far  from  where  the 


—31— 

wire  was  cut  before  we  met  a  man  in  hot  haste,  going  for 
the  soldiers.  He  said  the  Indians  had  killed  one  of  their 
men  down  the  road  five  or  six  miles.  We  kept  on  until 
late  in  the  afternoon  when  we  saw  some  object  down  on  a 
fiat  near  the  road.  One  was  a  live  white  man,  trying  to 
scalp  a  dead  Indian.  He  told  us  that  he  belonged  to  a 
Government  mule  train  of  forty  wagons,  that  had  fought 
the  Indians  and  had  killed  eight  of  them,  five  of  which 
the  Indians  had  carried  off.  Three  were  there,  all  shot 
through  the  head  by  one  man,  a  good  shot.  This  man  had 
come  back  four  miles  from  camp  all  alone  to  scalp  those 
Indians.  No  doubt  the  Indians  saw  us  coming  before  we 
saw  them  and  that  saved  his  fool-hardy  life. 

That  night,  after  seeing  the  three  dead  Indians,  we 
camped  where  twelve  wagons  had  formed  a  corral  and 
kept  the  Indians  at  bay  for  three  hours.  No  one  was 
killed  or  wounded  on  either  side.  Our  wagons  enlarged 
the  force  and  made  quite  a  camp.  That  was  my  first  night 
out  with  the  stock.  I  insisted  on  taking  my  turn  as  I  was 
crettinor  strong. 

About  midnight  we  saw  the  signal,  fire  balls  go  up 
in  the  air,  in  different  directions,  showing  that  the  Indians 
were  scattered  around  us  at  no  great  distance.  All  at 
once  we  heard  confusing  sounds,  coming  from  our  camp, 
and  one  of  us  went  in  to  see  what  caused  it  and  found  to 
our  surpi'ise  that  some  one  had  given  the  alarm  of  attack, 
by  seeing  the  signal  balls  go  up  as  we  had  seen  them  but 
thought  nothing  of  it  as  Indians  seldom  attack  in  the 
night  time. 

The  following  morning  the  coast  was  clear.  We  got 
our  breakfast  and  moved  on,  but  a  change  of  weather 
mixed  with  snow  and  rain,  did  not  add  to  our  comfort. 
At  Bovais'  Ranch,  the  old  California  crossing  of  the  Platte, 


-32— 

we  were  halted  by  a  dapper  little  lieutenant,  who  had 
charge  of  a  squad  of  men  and  said  we  must  stop  there 
until  we  had  one  hundred  men  to  go  on  with  us.  This  we 
did  not  relish  as  it  is  not  pleasant  to  camp  when  cold  and 
with  no  fuel  to  be  had.  They  would  not  sell  us  a  stick  of 
wood  expecting  to  drive  us  into  their  houses  to  pay  a 
dollar  a  meal.  This  we  thought  was  part  of  the  scheme 
to  make  us  stop.  I  went  foraging  along  the  river  banks 
for  fuel  and  found  parts  of  a  wagon  that  had  been  burned 
and  some  drift  wood,  started  a  camp  lire  and  we  gathered 
a  lot  of  old  boots  and  shoes  and  heaped  them  on  the  fire. 
We  all  got  warmed  up  and  got  a  meal  with  hot  coffee. 
We  soon  felt  comfortable  and  happy. 

That  night  the  required  number  came  up  with  us 
and  we  got  the  consent  of  the  poppinjay  lieutenant  to  move 
on.  We  had  heard  that  the  Kansas  reginaent  would  come 
into  our  road,  going  our  way,  and  we  wanted  to  avoid 
them  if  possible  as  they  did  not  bear  a  very  savory  reputa- 
tion for  honesty.  We  got  ahead  of  tliem  and  were  glad 
of  our  good  luck,  when  one  of  our  men,  a  blacksmith  from 
Denver,  stopped  at  the  first  ranch  to  wait  for  the  soldiers. 
He  was  badly  alarmed  about  the  Indians.  He  had  a  trunk 
full  of  clothes,  some  fine  blankets  and  a  valuable  bearskin 
robe.  Those  Kansas  soldiers  liked  good  things.  They 
had  taken  everything  he  had,  except  his  fiddle  and  he  was 
a  pitiful  looking  chap  and  said  he  wished  he  had  stayed 
with  us  and  risked  the  redskins. 

Alkali  was  our  most  dangerous  camp,  as  it  seemed  to 
be  the  storm  center  of  attack;  Plumb  Creek  next  and 
last.  We  soon  passed  Fort  Kearney,  and  from  there  into 
Atchison  we  felt  out  of  danger. 

At  Atchison  all  our  party  stopped  except  my  wife 
and  I.     We  were  going  to  Lexington   to  visit  my  sister- 


-33— 

After  passing  through  Leavenworth,  going  down  the 
Missouri  River,  we  got  in  the  late  war  district.  Chimneys 
without  houses  stood  as  sentinels  over  the  ground  which 
happy  families  had  once  called  home,  and  all  was  gone 
save  the  land  and  fragments  of  outbuildings  and  orchards- 
No  signs  of  life  were  left  to  tell  of  former  comfort. 

We  met  one  old  man  and  one  young  man,  father  and 
son,  below  Leavenworth,  who  halted  us  and  wanted  to 
know  where  we  were  going.  I  told  him,  ''Down  the  river," 
and  said,  "why  do  you  ask?"  He  replied  that  he  had 
been  robbed  of  his  horse  and  |60.00,  a  mile  or  two  farther 
on,  and  was  on  his  way  to  Leavenworth,  on  foot,  to  get 
some  officials  to  help  catch  the  robbers. 

W^e  went  on  just  the  same  and  when  we  got  to  Inde- 
pendence we  called  on  my  old  employer,  Mr.  Landis,  and 
his  family,  and  he  said:  "How  did  you  come?"  "By 
tea,m  from  Denver  to  Atchison  and  down  the  river  here," 
I  said.  "Did  no  one  hold  you  up?"  be  said.  I  said  not. 
''Well,"  he  said,  "the  woods  are  full  of  bandits,  the  stage 
was  attacked  between  Kansas  City  and  Westport,  four 
miles  apart,  and  robbed  yesterday.  The  Indians  are  nothing 
to  the  chances  that  you  have  taken." 

The  next  morning  we  started  for  Lexington,  thirty- 
five  miles  farther  on,  and  got  through  all  right. 

The  marks  of  war  were  visible  on  the  country,  and 
people  of  the  old  time  hospitality  and  good  will  were  scarce 
and  calloused.  Old  friends  had  become  enemies,  brothers 
had  fought  against  each  other,  the  carpet  bagger  was  a  loud 
character  who  held  office  under  the  government.  Men  that 
had  led  quiet  lives  before  the  war  became  tyrants  under  the 
conquering  Government,  that  claimed  all  virtue,  all  honor, 
all  patriotism;  the  conquered  were  but  serfs,  the  boiling 


—34— 

cauldron  had   brought  the  scum  on   top,  and   it  smelt  of 
pretence,  hypocricy  and  rotten  loyalty. 

They  had  robbed  the  Government  of  every  cent 
possible;  they  fought  battles  with  their  mouths,  shook  the 
bloody  shirts  for  thirty  years  after  the  war  was  over,  got 
pensions  under  false  swearing,  through  rascally  pension 
agents,  dragged  the  American  Flag  through  all  the  lilth 
of  elections  that  put  the  time  worker  in  office  by  false 
returns,  made  bed  fellows  of  thugs  and  gamblers,  shielded 
the  defaulting  officials  who  stole  the  people's  money, 
helped  make  more  offices  to  burden  the  people  with  taxes, 
all  for  the  crumbs  that  might  fall  to  thji.m. 

CHAPTER  YI. 

After  spending  the  winter  of  1865  and  1866  in  Lex- 
ington, we  took  an  early  steamboat  for  Nebraska  City,  the 
place  selected  to  start  a  branch  business.  It  was  the 
home  of  many  freighters  and  among  them  was  Aleck 
Majors,  the  king  of  all  team  freighters  across  the  plains. 
This  firm  had  thousands  of  teams.  'Ibey  had  branch 
stores  all  through  the  West,  and  moved  all  of  Uncle  Sam's 
supplies  for  forts  in  the  West.  Twenty  wagons  with  live 
yoke  of  oxen  to  each  wagon,  made  a  train.  They  were 
called  prairie  schooners  and  each  hauled  from  sixty  to 
seventy  thousand  pounds  as  a  load.  It  took  twenty-two 
men  to  man  a  train,  twenty  drivers  and  first  and  second 
wagon  boss.  One  or  both  rode  on  horseback,  picked  out 
camping  places,  whipped  up  through  bad  places,  kept  men 
in  their  proper  places,  delivered  the  goods  as  consigned 
and  hired  or  discharged  men.  No  more  lively  scene  can 
be  depicted  than  a  large  train  camp  getting  ready  to  move; 
two  hundred  ox'en  to  yoke,  Each  teamster  must  know 
his  own  oxen,  mate  them  and  get  them  in  place.     Camp 


—35— 

utensils  must  find  their  proper  places.  When  these  large 
ox  trains  camped  they  formed  an  oblong  column.  The 
lead  teams,  turning  to  right  and  left  and  coming  together 
at  a  proper  distance,  formed  a  corral  which  made  a  safe 
defence  agrainst  Indian  invasions.  The  stock  can  be  driven 
into  this,  held  against  harm  and  yoked,  as  they  could  not  be 
on  the  open  prairie,  as  they  always  have  some  unruly 
Bucks,  Berry s  and  Jerrys, 

The  white  wagon  sheets  lend  enchantment  and  the 
lively  popping  of  the  whips  with,  "Get  up,  Tom,  Dick 
and  Harry,"  in  a  husky  voice  that  set  the  prairie  dogs 
to  barking,  the  snakes  and  owls  to  come  out  of  their  holes, 
the  distant  antelope  to  stare  in  wild  wonder,  the  lonely 
coyote  to  trot  to  some  safe  distance  and  the  jack  rabbit 
to  scud  across  the  plains,  twelve  feet  to  a  leap.  These 
are  all  things  of  the  past.  The  iron  horse  does  not  need 
to  camp.  He  travels  day  and  night  and  only  goes  into 
his  stall  to  be  repaired  and  rubbed  down  for  another  trip. 

The  buffalo  went  with  the  ox,  his  driver  and  the 
Indian.  The  long  haired  Buffalo  Bills,  Texas  Jacks  and 
would-be  desperadoes  are  gone. 

The  rapid  construction  of  the  great  overland  railroad 
was  a  new  departure  from  the  old,  slow  method  of  all 
previous  roads.  There  was  a  stimulous  behind  it  that 
made  men  move  as  nothing  else  would  move  them,  the 
almighty  dollar.  Sixteen  thousand  dollars  a  mile  on  the 
level  prairie,  only  now  and  then  a  cut  or  fill,  no  long 
expensive  bridges  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
dollars  for  mountain  miles,  with  altei'nate  sections  of  land 
on  both  sides  of  the  road  as  a  subsidy,  made  men  wild 
with  eagerness  to  make  all  the  miles  they  could.  The 
road  was  built  from  both  ends  by  separate  companies,  the 
Pacific    end,    called    the    Central    Pacific,    starting   from 


/ 
/  / 


\\ 


—36— 

Sacramento  City,  California,  and  the  Eastern  end  at 
Omaha,  Nebraska,  called  the  Union  Pacific.  They  got  so 
system ized  that  they  could  lay  six  miles  of  track  a  day 
and  on  occasions  laid  ten  miles.  It  was  a  new  era  in 
railroad  building  that  has  revolutionized  the  entire  busi- 
ness and  made  it  possible  to  build  a  road  over  and  around 
any  mountain,  and  climb  high  grades  at  a  good  speed. 
Such  engineering  would  have  crazed  an  old  time  civil 
engineer,  and  the  man  at  the  throttle  would  have  refused 
to  start  up  such  mountains  with  a  train  of  cars  behind  his 
engine. 

Our  trade  at  Nebraska  City  for  the  first  year  was 
from  the  team  freighters.  Large  warehouses  were  built 
there  and  the  Government  and  merchants  consigned  goods 
to  their  houses  for  shipment  to  forts  and  distant  places  by 
team.  Steamboats  ended  their  work  at  these  points,  along 
the  river,  Leavenworth,  Kansas  City,  Atchison,  Nebraska 
City  and  Omaha;  but  they  were  soon  cut  off  as  team 
freighters.  Eastern  roads  were  reaching  out  for  Omaha 
from  Chicago  and  other  points,  and  very  soon  made  the 
connection.  Soon  the  two  continental  roads  met  and  the 
things  called  coaches  and  wagons  w^ere  only  used  on  side 
lines  until  other  branch  roads  were  built,  then  disappeared. 

Finding  my  trade  simmered  down  to  the  farmer  who 
could  get  our  lowest  cash  prices,  then  ask  thirty  days  and 
take  one  hundred  and  thirty  days  by  keeping  out  of  the 
way  until  his  wheat  would  sell  for  a  few  cents  more,  or 
his  hogs  would  weigh  two  hundred,  and  then  think  he 
had  done  you  a  great  favor  if  he  paid  you  at  all.  This 
was  too  slow  for  my  blood,  so  I  packed  for  Cheyenne, 
Wyoming.  It  was  intended,  by  the  railroad  officials,  to 
make  it  the  large  town  of  the  line  by  building  round- 
houses and   repair  shops.       The    stone  foundations  were 


—37— 

laid  and  all  seeming  preparations  were  made  for  carrying 
out  their  proposed  plan.  It  proved  only  a  ruse  to  sell 
their  town  lots,  to  the  best  adv^antage,  and  make  a  freight 
point  for  Colorado. 

When  they  got  over  the  mountains  on  the  Laramie 
Plains  they  laid  out  Laramie  City,  and  there  actually 
built  their  shops,  leaving  Cheyenne  to  live  or  die  as  best 
she  could,  without  their  help,  and  it  looked  very  much  as 
if  it  must  die  as  there  was  no  farming  land  or  mines  to 
support  it.  Many  moved  away.  Yacant  stores  and  houses 
were  plenty,  and  no  one  to  occupy  them. 

Wyoming  had  fine  grazing  lands  and  cattlemen 
drifted  into  it,  crowded  out  of  Colorado,  Texas,  Kansas  and 
Kebraska.  They  soon  found  that  they  had  struck  a  bonanza. 
Her  high  winds  piled  the  snow  up  in  drifts,  and  left  a 
large  area  naked,  so  that  cattle  could  keep  fat  in  winter, 
while  in  other  states  the  snow  lay  on  their  level  land  just 
as  it  fell,  covering  all  the  grass,  and  cattle  died  by  the 
thousands,  while  Wyoming  men  had  fat  cattle  to  sell  early 
in  the  Spring.  The  fact  soon  became  known  and  large 
cattle  companies  were  formed  and  filled  all  the  available 
places  The  cattle  king  strutted  Cheyenne  Streets,  made 
it  his  home  and  grew  rich  rapidly.  This  made  the  town 
grow,  as  it  became  the  cattle  center  for  cattle  drivers  from 
Texas,  Montana,  Idaho,  Oregon  and  Utah.  Two  good  banks 
were  established,  which  at  one  time  carried  a  larger 
deposit  than  any  Denver  bank.  All  this  gave  a  new  turn 
to  things.  Fine  brick  houses  took  the  place  of  the  frail 
frame  structures,  a  good  hotel  was  built  and  business 
houses  that  compared  well  with  any  in  Denver  or  Omaha.  i 
The  state  capitol  was  built  and  the  Windy  City  grew  to 
stay. 

I  found  myself  and  wife  crowded  into  one  small  room  \ 


—38— 

in  the  old  Rollins  house,  in  1868,  where  one  could  hear 
what  was  said  above  a  whisper  in  every  other  room  in  the 
house,  and  we  paid  three  dollars  a  day  each.  The  outlook 
of  a  staple  town,  in  one  of  the  worst  locations  for  comfort 
that  could  have  been  selected,  did  not  look  very  encourag- 
ing. The  worst  element  of  all  humanity  had  lodged  there. 
There  was  no  center  of  business  in  it.  ^^o  one  had  any 
idea  where  it  would  be.  Eech  set  had  formed  a  nucleus 
well  apart  and  each  thought  their  locality  the  best. 

Our  lot  had  been  purchased  through  some  Denver 
acquaintances  and  the  building  put  up  without  either  of 
the  iirm  seeing  it  until  I  arriv^ed  to  find  an  open  barn 
without  doors  or  windows,  and  it  was  cold  and  snowing  on 
Sunday  morning.  I  hunted  up  the  contractor,  gave  him 
a  piece  of  my  mind  for  misrepresentation,  and  said,  "Now 
I  want  you  to  go  right  at  this  work.  I  don't  care  any- 
thing about  your  Sunday  scruples.  A  man  that  can  lie 
has  no  religion  that  is  worth  saving." 

He  was  very  religious  but  managed  to  beat  us  some 
way,  on  the  contract  made  by  my  partner,  who  doubtless 
thought  he  was  honest.  We  got  things  in  shape  so  we 
could  move  into  the  rear  for  a  living  apartment.  Our 
household  goods  were  on  tbe  track,  unloaded  among  a 
thousand  unloaded  cars.  I  got  permission  to  open  it  and 
as  luck  would  have  it,  against  mine  was  a  lot  of  heavy 
machinery  that  barred  the  way  to  my  goods  and  provisions. 
I  was  determined  to  get  away  from  that  noisy  hotel.  I 
borrowed  a  stove,  a  bed  and  two  chairs,  bought  some  food 
and  went  to  house  keeping,  got  things  in  shape  for  open- 
ing business  and  found  four  competitors  already  in  the 
Held,  all  established.  My  chances  looked  slim  but  I  got 
out  to  rustle  and  make  my  place  known.  So  1  found  a 
dead  horse,  with  a  good  hide  on   him,  and  set  to  work  to 


—39— 

see  how  I,  as  a  taxidermist,  could  make  a  sign  for  my 
business.  I  had  no  experience  but  risked  it  and  made  a 
fairly  good  job,  rigged  him  out  with  saddle  and  bridle 
and  placed  him  on  a  post  with  platform  twelve  feet  high. 
This  soon  attracted  much  attention,  and  every  one  in  the 
town  soon  knew  where  our  saddle  shop  was,  and  I  soon 
had  my  share  of  patronage  and  steadily  gained  on  my 
competitors  until  one  by  one  they  departed  and  I  held  the 
fort.  The  business  is  still  running  at  the  old  stand  in  the 
hands  of  my  nephew,  whom  I  took  to  learn  the  trade  thirty 
years  ago.  His  trade  extends  over  a  number  of  Western 
states. 

The  Denver  business,  started  by  Mr.  Landis  and  con- 
ducted by  myself  for  him  and  afterwards  for  our  firm,  is 
still  running  at  the  old  stand,  by  Heiser,  and  is  of  thirty- 
six  years'  standing.  Many  others^n  both  places  have  come 
and  gone  in  that  time.  I  planned  and  started  S.  C.  Gallup 
of  Pueblo,  who  has  a  standing  of  twenty-six  years  and  the 
best  saddle  business  in  this  state.  I  also  started  T.  E. 
Meanea  in  the  saddle  tree  business  twenty  years  ago, 
which  is  still  running  and  is  the  only  factory  of  that  kind 
between  the  Missouri  River  and  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  the 
tree  is  superior  to  any  made  in  the  United  States  for  a 
stock  saddle. 

At  Cheyenne  I  suffered  so  intensely  with  acute  rheu- 
matisiri  that  I  could  find  no  comfort  in  life.  I  was  doing 
a  good  business,  had  just  entered  the  field  against  the 
famous  stock  saddle,  made  at  different  places  in  California, 
and  I  was  on  my  first  effort  to  please  Mr.  Whitcomb  and 
others,  who  were  the  leading  stock  men  of  the  country, 
but  I  could  not  stand  such  suffering  there  and  came  to 
Denver  and  got  climatic  relief  and  left  the  business  in 
charge  of  my  nephew,  F.  A.  Meanea. 


—40— 


In  1873,  I  sold  mv  interest  in  the  Denver  business  to 


'J 


my  old  partner,  Francis  Gallup,  took  the  Cheyenne  bus- 
iness and  took  F.  A.  Meanea  in  as  my  partner  and 
afterwards  sold  out  to  him. 

CHAPTER  YII. 

In  1875,  myself  and  wife  went  to  California  and 
traveled  by  team  through  twenty- two  counties,  seeing  the 
country  and  our  friends,  and  gaining  health  and  all  the 
information  we  could.  It  is  a  beautiful  country,  with 
unbounded  resources  and  a  great  variety  of  products,  a 
fine  climate  and  everything  to  make  man  happy,  save  the 
narrow  greed  of  monopoly  which  is  eating  the  vitals  of  the 
masses,  until  distress  shows  its  signs  on  many  homes  and 
in  many  faces,  of  those  eking  out  an  existance  in  the  land 
of  plenty  when  all  might  be  made  happy. 

I  found  men  there,  of  my  boyhood  days,  that  had 
alternately  been  rich  and  poverty  stricken,  more  of  the 
latter  that  stayed  with  them.  I  found  fellow  apprentices, 
one  or  two  well  off,  some  as  poor  as  Avhen  they  started  out- 
This  always  made  me  sad  as  I  thought  of  their  bright 
expectations  in  youth.  We  spent  the  winter  in  San  Fran- 
cisco and  enjoyed  its  life  and  hurry.  It  was  when  stock 
gambling  in  mines  was  at  its  highest  pitch.  Every  man, 
woman  and  boy  could  tell  you  about  the  Consolidated 
Yirginia,  the  Ophir  or  a  thousand  other  mines  with  big 
sounding  names;  but  two-thirds  of  them  had  no  real 
existence.  Every  one  was  on  the  inside,  or  had  some 
known  friend  that  was,  and  they  were  all  going  to  make  a 
big  raise  when  such  and  such  a  stock  w^ent  up,  but  they 
were  doomed  to  disappointment.  The  manipulators  knew 
well  how  to  deceive  them. 


—41— 

When  I  went  back  in  1881,  all  these  people  were  des- 
perately poor  and  without  hope  while  the  manipulator  had 
gone  off  rich  to  spend  his  money  in  some  other  country. 
This  is  the  history  of  all  species  of  gambling.  Getting 
something  for  nothing  must  make  some  man  poor  and 
leave  no  equivalent  for  the  loss. 

We  returned  to  Denver  in  the  fall  of  1876,  the 
Centennial  year,  when  our  state  came  into  the  sisterhood 
of  states.  Times  were  still  dull  and  continued  so  until  the 
great  camp  at  Leadville  opened  its  riches  to  astonish  the 
world.  That  gave  us  a  boom  in  advance  of  other  less 
fortunate  states.     Everything  went  flying  up  in  value. 

The  South  Park  railroad,  which  had  been  begging  to 
sell  their  stock  to  keep  tilings  moving,  soon  had  pur- 
chasers that  made  the  dirt  fly.  The  Rio  Grande  and  Santa 
Fe  were  fighting  each  other  for  the  right  of  way  up  the 
Grand  Canon  to  Leadville.  The  Rio  Grande  came  out 
victor  and  has  continued  to  run  ever  since. 

H.  A.  W.  Tabor  was  about  all  you  could  hear  when 
rich  men  who  had  mines  at  Leadville,  w^ere  meetioned. 
He  was  liberal  and  they  importuned  him  night  and  day 
and  the  citizens  fawned  and  flattered  him  out  of  thousands. 
They  bled  him  at  every  pore  of  his  skin  and  nominated 
and  elected  him  Lieutenant  Governor.  His  name  was 
emblazoned  on  every  rock  and  in  every  paper.  Every 
corporation  had  his  name  enrolled  on  its  books  and  they 
could  not  say  enough  in  his  praise.  Alas,  the  foolish 
man  has  found  the  bottom  of  his  splendid 'fortune,  is 
deeply  involved  and  is  grasping  at  straws  in  the  vain  hope 
of  saving  something  for  old  age,  which  is  fast  creeping 
upon  him.  Those  smiling  sycophants  smile  no  more  upon 
him.  Such  is  the  ingratitude  of  a  great  majority  of  man- 
kind.      We    seek    our    kind    in     vain    for   comfort    and 


—42— 

consolation  and  only  now  and  then  find  it  scattered  along 
our  path,  to  give  ns  hope  that  at  some  period  of  our 
eternal  life  we  may  find   the  fountain  that  always  flows. 

In  1881,  I  made  my  second  trip  to  California,  for  the 
purpose  of  buying  some  property  that  was  selling  so  low^ 
as  to  make  it  an  inducement,  and  I  made  Oakland,  across 
the  bay  from  San  Francisco,  my  field  of  operation.  It  is 
a  most  beautiful  resident  city,  so  quiet  and  clean  and 
thousands  of  cosy  cottages  built  so  neat  and  homelike. 
Mixed  in  among  these  are  some  stately  mansions  with 
large  grounds,  beautifully  laid  out  with  winding  walks, 
bordered  with  green  hedges  formed  of  Monteray  Cyprus, 
that  makes  a  living  green  wall. 

California  is  the  home  of  flowers  and  shrubs  of  nearly 
all  countries.  The  rose,  magnolia  and  calla  lily  grow  side 
by  side,  winter  and  summer,  and  the  great  variety  of  fruit 
makes  it  a  land  of  enchantment. 

Their  Masonic  Conclaves  outdid  every  state  in  grand 

preparations  and  hospitality.  If  the  World's  Fair  should 

ever  be  held  there,  the  one  at  Chicago  would  certainly  be 
put  in  the  shade. 

I  bought  some  resident  property  in  Oakland  and 
should  have  bought  more,  and  made  it  my  home,  had  my 
wife  felt  as  I  did  about  it.  I  kept  it  a  few  years  in  the 
hands  of  an  agent,  but  saw  the  impracticability  of  making 
property  pay  in  that  way,  so  I  sold  it  again  and  gave  up 
all  hopes  of  having  a  home  there  and  am  contented  in  old 
Colorado.  I  expect  to  leave  my  remains  under  the  shadow 
of  the  old  Rocky  Mountains,  and,  I  hope,  in  Tabawatch 
Yalley,  in  Montrose  County,  in  the  Colorado  Colony 
grounds.  This  is  my  choice,  if  I  have  any,  and  I  shall 
earnestly  request  in  life  that  my  body  shall  not  be  carted 


—43— 

around  for  show  or  any  whim  about  any  particular  place 
of  burial.  This  is  my  country  and  one  place  is  as  good 
as  another  for  what  is  left  after  the  real  person  has  gone 
hence,  and  i  shall  insist  on  having  some  carpenter  make  a 
plain  casket,  not  costing  over  ten  dollars,  and  not  a 
monopoly-made  one  with  a  monopoly  price  on  it.  1  want 
no  tinseled  hearse  that  has  a  combine  price  for  its  use. 
Get  an  express  wagon  and  have  any  other  plain  vehicles 
and  give  the  difference  in  cost  of  burial  to  some  poor 
cripple  or  a  widow  woman  who  is  slaving  to  make  a  living. 
I  do  not  want  any  reverend  cloth  to  read  any  service  or 
take  any  part  in  the  last  end.  Get  some  honest  friend,  if 
anyone,  who  will  tell  the  truth,  good  or  bad,  just  the 
same  as  if  I  was  in  the  body  and  looking  right  at  them. 

If  something  must  be  done  to  satisfy  past  customs, 
sing  'Sweet  Home,"  or  any  sentimental  song  that  has 
harmony  in  it.  In  life  I  do  not  believe  in  whitewashing 
any  one,  and  it  is  only  apologetic  when  done  after  death. 
If  there  is  nothing  that  can  be  said  truly,  keep  still  about 
that  which  is  not  creditable. 

We  are  not  all  entirely  responsible  for  what  we  are 
or  what  we  do.  Hereditary  weakness  comes  with  us  into 
the  world.  Some  of  this  can  be  held  in  abeyance  to  a 
strong  will  power  by  careful  guarding.  We  may  go 
through  life  and  the  world  never  know  our  inner  natures. 
With  some  a  church  association  that  is  full  of  sulphur  is 
a  good  thing.  Through  fear  they  keep  from  showing  the 
trend  of  desire.  With  others  it  only  makes  hypocrites. 
They  wear  it  as  a  cloak  to  blind  the  world.  Some  are 
born  full  of  reverence  and  would  be  good  people  if  they 
never  saw  a  church  or  a  bible,  or  heard  a  preacher. 
Thousands  of  people  join  the  church  because  it  is  fashion- 
able.    They  think  it  gives  them  weight  in  a  community. 


—44— 

or  business  patronage.     All  this  is  sacrilegious  and  should 
be  held  in  contempt  by  all  right  thinking  people. 

The  writer  has  as  much  reverence  as  any  one  for 
honesty,  integrity  and  humanitarian  principles  but  not 
for  unseen  and  unproved  divinity,  that  is  held  up  by  blind 
faith  and  propaganda  put  forth  by  men,  that  had  no  more 
claim  of  the  divine  in  them  than  any  other  human  being, 
judging  by  their  acts  as  history  tells  them  to  the  world  in 
their  own  book,  the  bible.  If  it  can  be  trusted  as  a  true 
history  its  many  contradictions  and  fabulous  stories  would 
not  read  well  in  any  other  book,  or  receive  much  credit  as 
a  history  if  written  by  any  one  at  our  present  time. 
Antiquity  lends  enchantment,  and  blinds  the  senses  of 
thousands  of  people,  when  it  comes  in  the  form  of  some 
religious  faith. 

One  can  tolerate  a  sun -worshipper  with  some  degree 
of  patience,  as  we  all  know  the  daily  blessings  of  the  sun. 
We  know  that  no  life — human,  animal  or  vegetable — 
could  exist  without  its  presence.  We  know  chaos  must 
follow  its  departure.  We  never  tire  of  its  presence.  We 
bask  in  its  light  which  gives  us  health  and  all  we  have. 
The  moon  and  stars  are  beautiful  to  look  at,  and  all  are 
necessary  for  the  existence  of  the  earth  and  each  system 
of  planets  is  undoubtedly  a  part  of  the  great  whole  grand 
universe  that  is  so  far  beyond  human  comprehenson  that  we 
get  lost  and  bewildered  and  think  of  our  own  littleness  and 
ignorance  as  an  innocent  child  playing  in  the  sands  of  the 
seashore. 

The  principles  as.  taught  by  Christ  were  undoubted- 
ly good.  So  were  those  of  many  other  great  leaders. 
Confucius  taught  the  golden  rule  three  hundred  years 
before  the  birth  of  Christ;  his  moral  code  was  good. 
Brama  and  Chrisneu  taught  good  morals  and  a  better  life. 


—45— 

They  were  all  intermixed  with    superstition  and  selfish 
humanity. 

Christ  did  and  said  some  very  strange  things  accord- 
ing to  the  record,  which  smacked  of  much  of  the  common 
herd  of  humanity  in  its  fitness.  He  would  not  feel  much  at 
home  in  some  of  our  hundred  thousand  dollar  churches, 
with  a  five  thousand  dollar  salaried  divine  to  tell  the 
people  once  a  week  what  they  ought  to  know  better  for 
themselves.  Christ  would  think  they  were  talking  about 
some  other  man  if  he  could  hear  them  and  see  their  daily 
actions.  But  this  is  a  human  dodge,*to  load  all  their  sins 
on  any  one  that  will  bear  them  and  wear  the  name  of  any- 
thing or  anybody  as  a  pretext  to  give  them  popularity. 
This  too,  is  hypocricy  that  has  little  to  recommend  itself 
to  sensible,  honest  people. 

The  waste  of  valuable  time  in  threshing  over  old 
straw  when  every  kernel  of  grain  has  been  gleaned  from 
it  ages  ago,  does  seem  as  though  we  had  an  age  of  preten- 
tions and  pretenders  that  are  getting  their  bread  and 
butter  by  and  through  the  credulity  of  the  people.  The 
cliurches  are  a  tax  upon  the  whole  people.  No  one  escapes 
who  is  a  tax- payer,  and  there  is  no  justice  in  it.  They 
should  be  made  to  pay  taxes  like  a  club  building  or  any 
person  who  has  a  luxury  for  his  pleasure  and  benefit  that 
is  not  necessary  to  existence,  while  others  struggle  for  a 
bare  existence.  When  will  people  come  to  their  senses 
and  throw  off  this  incubus  that  has  loaded  them  down  for 
centuries.  If  a  man  or  woman  wants  a  religion  let  him 
or  her  pay  for  it  to  all  intents  and  purposes. 

1  must  not  neglect  to  mention  among  my  early  and 
valued  acquaintances  made  in  Denver  in  i860,  Col.  A.  G. 
Boone,  of  Westport,  Mo.  He  had  been  one  of  the  lead- 
ing merchants  of  that  western  exit  for  the  West.     It  was 


—46— 

an  outfitting  point  while  Kansas  City  was  only  a  landitig 
for  steamboats. 

A.  G.  Boone  was  a  grandson  of  the  famed  Daniel 
Boone,  who  is  so  well  known  in  our  history  as  a  pioneer 
in  the  Western  wilds.  He  tells  of  his  grandfather's  cof- 
fin which  had  been  made  many  years  before  his  death,  and 
was  kept  upstairs,  and  to  utilize  the  room  it  occupied  every 
fall,  they  filled  it  with  apples  grown  on  a  favorite  tree. 
He  says  many  a  time  he  slipped  up  to  get  the  fruit  out  of 
Grandpa's  cofiin. 

A.  G.  Boone  had  all  of  his  noble  sire's  good  qualities; 
had  great  influence  with  the  red  men  and  was  Indian 
Agent  for  different  tribes.  He  could  move  them  to  a  new 
reservation  when  no  other  white  man  could  approach 
within  sight  of  them.  He  had  always  kept  his  word  with 
them  and  dealt  honestly,  and  this  was  known  far  and  wide 
among  all  the  tribes.  He  could  travel  anywhere  among 
them,  as  he  did,  and  do  it  in  safety. 

'Not  many  years  before  his  death,  he  was  up  in  ISTorth 
Dakota,  and  got  the  appointment  to  take  the  census  of 
that  wild  region,  filled  with  Indians.  He  took  a  buck- 
board  and  his  blankets  and  a  frying  pan,  and  did  the 
work  without  fear.  The  Indians  piloted  him  across 
streams,  divided  their  venison  with  him  and  all  seemed 
to  know  who  he  was  at  first  sight. 

He  came  to  Denver  for  the  purpose  of  taking  charge 
of  Col.  St.  Yrain's  property  and  store,  and  built  one  of 
the  early  two-story  brick  business  houses  in  Denver,  on 
Blake  street.  He  was  getting  settled  down  to  business, 
when,  the  Government  wanted  him  to  move  a  tribe  of 
Indians,  and  would  not  take  no  for  an  answer.  No  one 
else  could  move  them  in  peace,  but  he  had  no  trouble. 


—47— 

He  had  come  up  the  Arkansas  river,  when  a  young 
man,  with  Robert  Campbell  and  others  of  the  American 
Fur  Company.  They  lost  about  all  their  animals  by  deep 
snows  during  the  winter,  and  came  over  the  Divide  look- 
ing for  buffalo  that  had  drifted  toward  the  Platte  when  the 
snow  was  not  so  deep.  They  killed  all  they  needed,  built 
canoes  out  of  Cottonwood  trees,  and  when  the  Platte  rose 
they  went  down  to  its  mouth  and  down  the  Missouri  riv- 
er to  St.  Louis.  That  was  forty  years  before  gold  was 
found  up  Cherry  Creek. 

Mrs.  Eliza  Janes  and  Mrs.  Mary  Spencer  are  his  only 
daughters  in  Denver.  Mrs.  Otis  of  San  Diego,  Cali- 
fornia, and  Mrs.  Hobart  of  Dakota,  are  also  his  daughters. 
He  has  grandchildren  galore  and  some  great  grandchildren 
that  will  never  know  how  good  and  generous  a  person 
they  descended  from.  I  shall  revere  his  memory  as  long 
as  life  lasts  and  hope  to  meet  him  in  the  land  of  the  leal. 

In  the  last  days  of  his  life,  when  his  health  had  failed 
him  and  old  age  was  doing  its  final  work,  he  said  to  me: 
^'Gallatin,  I  cannot  live  much  longer.  I  do  not  care  to 
suffer  and  be  so  much  trouble  to  others  and  I  have  no 
fears  of  death.  I  have  nev^er  complained  of  neglect  by 
my  children.  They  have  always  been  good  to  me,  but 
some  old  friends  to  whom  I  have  rendered  many  favors, 
now  that  I  am  down  and  they  know  it,  neglect  me  I  feel. 
They  know  now  that  I  cannot  grant  them  more  and  they 
shun  me." 

It  was  the  momentary  outpouring  of  a  wounded  heart 
that  knew  nothing  but  kindness  and  unselfish  devotion  to 
friends.  He  never  failed  to  do  any  one  a  kindness.  The 
world  does  not  often  produce  these  noble  characters  and 
they  ought  to  be  revered  by  all  who  know  their  nature  and 


—48— 

come  in  contact  with  them.  It  is  the  idol,  only,  that  I 
worship.  Big  names  and  titles  hav^e  no  charms,  unless 
principle  is  embodied  with  them. 

Isaac  Chandler  was  another  of  my  friends  who  was 
a  counterpart  of  A.  G.  Boone  in  charity  and  all  that  makes 
up  a  manly  man.  Both  died  poor  because  they  could  not 
say  "No"  when  a  friend  appealed  to  them  for  help.  I 
trust  they  are  in  close  touch  in  the  world  of  spirits,  be- 
yond human  necessity,  and  will  find  all  that  they  deserve 
and  did  not  get  here,  in  this  short  world  of  ingratitude. 
Adieu,  old  friends! 

No  event  of  my  life  of  late  years  has  brought  me  to 
a  sense  of  the  value  of  friends  in  the  time  of  suffering  as 
did  my  experience  in  1890,  when  I  was  confined  to  my 
bed  for  nine  weeks,  having  met  with  an  accident.  I  came 
near  being  killed  by  a  runaway  team,  but  got  off  with  a 
broken  head  and  a  broken  leg.  I  was  sixty-two  years  of 
age  and  the  chances  were  that  I  would  be  a  cripple  the 
balance  of  my  life.  This  was  not  pleasant  to  contemplate 
as  I  had  always  been  active  and  able  to  take  care  of  myself 
without  having  to  ask  others  to  wait  upon  me,  and  the 
thought  of  this  bore  heaviest  on  my  mind  when  I  was 
first  hurt. 

A  short  time  before  this  accid  entoccurred,  a  friend, 
or  a  pretended  friend,  had  betrayed  my  confidence  in  him 
and  swindled  me  out  of  nearly  two  thousand  dollars  and 
skipped  the  country.  I  was  rather  sore  toward  mankind 
in  general,  felt  that  there  was  but  little  disinterested 
friendship  in  the  world  and  had  about  resolved  to  let 
everyone  paddle  his  own  canoe,  shut  my  selfish  shell  and 
look  out  for  myself  alone  the  balance  of  my  days.  Friends, 
this  is  a  mean  feeling  and  I  felt  guilty  of  something  and 


—49— 

that  I  was  growing  narrow  in  th-e  sere  and  yellow  leaf  of 
life,  to  curl  up  and  blow  away. 

All  this  feeling  left  me  when  the  time  came  to  try 
the  metal  of  my  friends.  Mrs.  Burnell  saw  the  City 
Ambulance  drive  up  to  my  house  and  she  came  directly 
over  and,  like  the  kind  sister  that  she  was,  washed  the 
blood  and  mud  from  my  face  and  gave  me  encouraging 
words,  like  a  brave  little  woman,  i  shall  never  forget 
this  if  I  live  in  the  spirit  a  million  years.  So,  later  on, 
other  friends  came,  all  anxious  to  lend  a  helping  hand. 
They  sat  up  with  me  by  night  and  came  every  hour  in  the 
day,  I  had  an  ovation  for  twelve  weeks.  Wives  bak-ed  bread 
and  cakes  and  brought  them  to  me,  the  young  ladies 
brought  me -flowers  and  fruit,  the  young  men  came  and 
made  music  for  me,  some  brought  books,  some  read  to 
me,  some  told  funny  stories  for  my  amusement  and  one 
man  brought  a  fine  music  box  of  twelve  tunes  and  when 
he  thought  I  was  tired  of  them,  exchanged  for  another 
with  different  music.  Nothing  was  neglected  to  make 
the  time  pass  pleasantly  for  me.  After  that  I  took  a  new 
view  of  humanity,  as  I  knew  none  of  this  kindness  had 
any  motive  of  selfishness  in  it,  aside  from  friendship. 

As  this  sketch  is  not  for  the  public  eye,  I  will  mention 
some  names  in  this  connection: — T.  A.  Burnell  and  wife, 
H.  F.  Richardson  and  wife,  William  Maudlin  and  wife, 
S.  F.  Powell  and  wif«,  Myers  Fischer,  Mrs.  Ben.  Spencer, 
John  Rose  and  wife  and  many  others  who  were  very  kind 
and  thoughtful  of  my  situation,  and  are  all  in  my  memory 
to  stay. 

My  friend,  H.  P.  H.  Bromwell,  came  on  one  occasion 
and  slipped  a  large  size  photo  of  himself  behind  the  piano 
for  me,  as  I  had  expressed  a  desire  for  one  some  time  be- 
fore, and  it  hangs  beneath   the  life  size  oil  portrait  I  had 


—50  — 

painted  of  Col.  A.  G.  Boone  some  years  ago.  Tliese  are 
men  of  the  same  sentiment  and  good  feeling  and  were 
friends  when  both  were  in  life.  1  am  proud  to  have  their 
pictures,  to  hang  together  so  I  can  see  just  how  they  looked 
while  I  live  and  shall  charge  those  who  may  have  them 
after  I  am  gone  to  preserve  them  as  I  did.  They  both 
belonged  to  the  same  Masonic  Lodge  and  were  up  in  high 
degrees  in  the  society. 

I  am  not  like  the  most  of  men.  I  never  belonged  to 
anything  or  anybody  that  might  check  my  freedom  of 
speech  or  action  in  matters  of  life.  I  never  belonged  to 
any  church  or  endorsed  any  belief  except  spiritualism. 
If  my  senses  are  of  any  value  to  me,  I  have  every  reason 
to  believe  in  the  continuity  of  life.  , 

I  am  well  aware  that  there  is  much  deception  prac- 
ticed through  public  mediums,  for  the  purpose  of  making 
money,  and  they  may  have  some  ability  that  is  genuine. 
But  many  are  not  satisiied  with  this.  They  like  notoriety 
and  step  outside  of  what  is  honest  to  get  it.  There  is  no 
doubt  of  this.  Among  their  popular  phrases  is  material- 
ization and  if  there  is  any  ground  for  this  phrase  ever 
being  genuine,  as  is  claimed  by  some  very  good  and 
sensible  people,  it  has  not  been  my  good  fortune  to  meet 
with  it,  nor  did  I  ever  hear  of  any  of  these  mediums  that 
did  not  get  caught  in  their  fraudulent  attempts  at  some 
time.  I  hold  that  if  this  phrase  is  what  many  claim  it, 
there  would  be  one  out  of  many  hundreds  that  would  not 
practice  fraud  in  it,  and  only  give  the  genuine.  As  yet 
that  one  has  not  come  before  the  people  and  maintained 
his  or  her  honesty  in  this  phrase.  This  to  my  mind  goes 
far  to  prove  that  real  materialization  is  a  fake.  Etherial- 
ization  is  far  more  probable  I  believe.  Forms  of  that 
nature  may  be  made  up  and  dissolved  much   more  easily 


—51— 

than  it  is  to  make    up    solid    bodies    and  dissolve  them 
almost  instantaneously  by  the  dozen. 

I  have  learned  this  much  about  all  beliefs  of  a  religious 
nature,  that  people  get  blind  and  fanatical  or  they  vv^ould 
not  endorse  and  accept  unreasonable  things,  coming 
through  their  belief  as  they  do.  Another  thing  I  have 
learned  is  that  a  belief  does  not  make  people  honest  or  any 
more  worthy  of  trust.  If  they  were,  by  nature,  honest,  no 
religious  belief  would  make  them  dishonest.  If  they  are 
by  nature  dishonest  it  is  only  fear  that  keeps  them  honest 
and  the  doctrine  of  fear  is,  in  fact,  becoming  a  thing  of 
the  past.  Hell  has  cooled  off.  The  seven-headed  monster 
that  had  charge  of  that  far  famed  institution  has  retired 
from  public  business,  where  the  search  light  of  truth  has 
penetrated  the  minds  of  the  people.  When  all  superstition 
is  swept  away  by  practical  knowledge,  all  sects  will  dis- 
appear. The  true  principle  of  life  is  in  what  we  do,  not 
what  we  believe.  1  think  one  might  pray  until  Doom's 
Day,  and  not  act,  and  that  one  starve,  as  he  should. 

True  religion  is  universal  kindness  to  all  living  things, 
animal  as  well  as  human.  With  kindness,  justice,  truth 
and  honesty  as  counterparts  you  have  the  best  religion  the 
world  ever  saw. 

CHAPTER  YIII. 

In  the  Spring  of  1895,  the  writer  was  induced  by 
some  friends  to  Join  the  Colorado  Co-operative  Company. 
This  colony  had  been  formed  in  the  winter  of  1894,  while 
the  State  Legislature  was  in  session.  Two  members  of 
that  body  were  among  its  incorporators.  They  met  at 
the  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  C.  E.  Smith  and  discussed 
locations  and  necessary  laws  all  winter  and  finally  formu- 
lated a  constitution  and  by-laws  which  they  thought  would 


—52- 

cover  the  ground  and  not  conflict  with  the  State  or  United 
States  Laws  but  give  equal  justice  to  all  its  members  and 
shield  it  against  sharks  and  speculators.  They  made  a 
number  of  mistakes,  but  at  the  annual  election  of  1896, 
they  remedied  some  of  them.  In  law  making,  where  equal 
justice  is  at  stake  there  are  many  difficulties  to  encoun- 
ter and  so  many  holes  to  stop  that  one  feels  like  throwing 
the  whole  system  to  the  dogs;  if  possible,  simplify  rules, 
regulating  all  interests  and  settle  all  disputes  by  arbitra- 
tion. Not  be  loaded  down  with  laws  that  a  keen  lawyer 
can  drive  a  four  horse  team  through  and  then  pay 
expensive  court  fees  to  have  them  melted  away  like  a 
Spring  snow.  We  have  a  super-abundance  of  laws  and  no 
justice. 

Our  people,  who  were  taking  an  active  part  in  this 
colony  formation,  were  divided  in  opinion  about  the  best 
mode  of  procedure  concerning  the  ownership  of  lands. 
Some  were  strong  enthusiasts  on  the  brotherhood-of  man 
principle,  that  the  lands  should  be  held  in  common.  After 
much  debating,  the  individual  ownership  of  land  prevailed, 
throucrh  the  strenuous  efforts  of  C.  E.  Smith.  He  had 
been  a  victim  of  theTopolobampa  Commune  and  had  seen 
the  ill  effects  of  collective  ownership.  He  saw  that  the 
indolent  would  see  the  industrious  do  all  the  work  until 
patience  was  worn  out,  desertion  followed  and  the  result 
was  entire  failure. 

After  much  searching  over  this  state  for  land  where 
fruit  and  grain  could  be  relied  on,  if  land  and  water  could  be 
combined,  that  place  was  found  in  Montrose  County,  on 
the  San  Miguel  River,  TabawatcH  Yalley,  lying  some  hun- 
dred feet  above  the  stream.  It  is  some  twenty  miles  long, 
averaging  two  miles  wide  and  paralleling  the  river. 

Looking  to  the  East  you   see  a  finely  marked  snowy 


—53— 

range,  Mount  Sneffles  and  Lone  Cone  being  the  promon- 
tories, seen  from  a  distance  as  sentries  over  the  less 
pretentions  mountains  of  the  range.  The  San  Miguel 
bursts  out  of  the  side  of  this  range  and  falls  several  hun- 
dred feet.  The  springs,  fed  by  perpetual  snow,  make  two 
good  sized  lakes  and  the  overflow  makes  streams  that  find 
the  San  Miguel  as  their  outlet  into  the  Dolores  River, 
whose  waters  Anally  mingle  with  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

B.  L.  Smith  had  traveled  several  hundred  miles  by 
team,  looking  for  a  location  and  had  about  decided  that 
nearly  all  the  desirable  land,  where  water  could  be  carried, 
was  taken,  and  was  on  his  way  home  when  he  was  taken 
sick  at  Placerville  and  had  to  lay  over.  While  there  he 
met  a  Mr.  Placen  and  told  him  his  business  and  at  once 
Placen  told  him  that  forty  miles  down  the  river  he  would 
find  just  what  he  had  described,  and  wanted,  and,  on  this 
advice,  he  went  and  found  our  present  location,  as  Placen 
had  described  it.  He  at  once  decided  it  was  the  promised 
land  and  wrote  to  the  directors,  all  of  whom  were  in  Den- 
ver at  that  time,  and  they  sent  a  committee  to  look  it  over 
and  report,  which  decided  the  matter. 

B.  L.  Smith,  late  in  the  fall,  moved  his  family  to 
Naturita,  a  Post  Office  and  Stage  Station  on  the  river, 
opposite  the  valley.  His  brother,  Truman  Smith,  went 
with  him  on  this  cold  trip  over  high  ranges  of  mountains 
and  bad  roads.  By  permission  of  R  H.  Blake,  they  put 
up  a  house  for  winter  quarters,  hauling  the  lumber  thirty 
miles. 

The  colony,  at  that  time,  had  about  twenty  members, 
but  no  money.  A  fifteen  and  one-half  mile  ditch  had  to 
be  built  before  any  crops  could  be  raised  and  this  made 
the  outlook  not  very  encouraging.  However  a  nucleus 
must  be    formed    to    work    from    and    to  do  this  it  was 


— Si- 
thought  best  to  lease  seventy  acres  of  Mr.  Blake's  land 
which  was  above  his  ditch  and  could  be  watered  by  taking 
out  a  ditch  farther  up  the  stream.  He  agreed  to  let  us 
have  the  use  of  it  for  three  years  if  we  would  put  out  a 
ditch,  sufficiently  large  to  water  this  seventy  acres,  which 
we  did  and  got  it  out  in  time  to  raise  fair  crops  the  first 
year.  This  year  we  will  have  better  crops  and  a  better 
variety  of  needful  things. 

Our  little  paper,  "The  Altrurian,"  was  gotten  out  in 
January,  1894,  by  C.  E.  Smith  and  J.  S.  Bartow  and  in 
Februray,  Truman  Smith  was  made  its  editor.  About 
two  hundred  copies  were  issued  and  sent  out  where  it  was 
thought  they  would  do  the  most  good.  Letters  of  inquiry 
about  the  colony  com  menced  to  come  in  and  one  man  in  Tex- 
as sent  a  fully  paid  up  share.  This  was  a  big  lift,  as  the 
treasury  was  about  as  low  as  a  Denver  Savings  Bank  after 
a  run  had  been  made  on  it.  We  needed  everything,  pro- 
visions, tools,  seed  for  planting  and  hay  and  grain  for  the 
horses. 

In  February,  several  joined  with  myself,  Mr.  I^ew- 
comb,  Mr,  Clark,  (Mr.  Necomb  went  down  on  the  work), 
and  young  Lewis  Miller  from  Alliance,  Neb.,  John  Blake 
and  Mr.  Pason;  Mr.  Mead  from  Florida,  came  in;  Miss 
McElroy  and  H.  E.  Robinson,  both  of  Denver,  joined. 
The  latter  part  of  June  was  set  for  filing  on  the  first  land 
by  the  Colony  members,  and  a  party  of  eight  was  made 
up  to  go  down:  Miss  Elsie  Gifford,  Miss  Ada  McElroy, 
J.  S.  Bartow,  L.  L.  Miller,  H  Epperson,  John  Doing, 
E.  L.  Gallatin,  and  Truman  Smith,  B.  L.  Smith  and 
R.  H.  Blake  met  us  with  wagons  at  Montrose,  to  convey 
us  over  the  route  to  Naturita.  We  were  well  loaded  and 
camped  out  two  nights,  had  a  jovial  crowd  and  got 
through  all  right. 


—55— 

When  at  one  point  on  the  top  of  Uncompaghra 
Mountain,  we  could  look  across  the  San  Miguel  River  and 
see  Wright's  Mesa,  as  it  is  called,  an  open  plateau,  high 
on  the  mountain  where  the  towns  of  Norwaod  and 
Shaunadok  with  their  surrounding  settlements  are  located. 
This  is  a  fine  body  of  land,  its  only  real  drawback  being  its 
altitude  and  scarcity  of  water  at  times.  One  of  these 
difficulties  may  be  overcome  by  tapping  the  San  Miguel 
Riv^er  high  up  or  by  making  reservoirs  to  store  the  waters 
of  Beaver  and  Naturita  Creeks,  on  which  a  company  is 
now  at  work. 

From  our  elevated  point  we  could  see  all  over  the 
country  and  our  promised  land  which  looked  like  a  thread. 
It  is  a  tine  piece  of  land  of  sandy  loam,  which  has  been 
washed  from  the  mountain  sides  into  it  for  centuries  and 
lodged  there  until  it  is  very  deep.  All  that  is  needed  to 
make  it  bloom  like  a  garden  is  water,  and  the  San  Miguel 
carries  all  and  more  than  is  needed  to  water  all  the  land  in 
the  vicinity.  Fine  pine  and  quaking  aspen  timber  grows 
in  abundance. 

Twelve  miles  back  of  this  land  and  easy  of  access, 
pine  trees,  four  feet  through  and  sixty  feet  tall  without  a 
limb,  are  no  uncommon  occurrence.  Coal  croppings  are 
numerous;  tine  building  stone  is  in  abundance;  fire  and 
other  clays  are  found.  In  fact,  nature  has  grouped 
together  about  as  many  good  things,  for  man's  use,  as  can 
be  found  anywhere;  good  land  that  will  grow  anything 
produced  in  this  state;  plenty  of  water  to  irrigate  it;  fine 
healthy  climate;  a  good  home  market;  certainty  of  crops 
under  irrigation  and  a  water  power  sufficient  to  turn  all 
the  wheels  of  a  large  manufacturing  town. 

On  the  twenty- second  of  June,  we  rode  over  the  land 
under  the  direction  of  B.  L.  Smith,  were  shown  the  lines, 


—56— 

and  a  number  of  locations  on  our  land,  and  filed  on  the 
same  at  Montrose.  Miss  McElroy,  John  Doing,  H. 
Epperson,  J.  S.  Bartow,  T.  O.  Smith,  L.  L.  Miller  and  E. 
L.  Gallatin,  were  the  first  to  file  of  the  colony.  Some 
land  had  been  filed  upon  by  some  people,  who  did  it  on 
the  strength  of  the  colony  locating  there,  but  have  for- 
feited the  same  by  non-compliance  with  the  law.  These 
people  wanted  to  bluff  the  colony,  as  they  had  made  a 
summary  of  the  ditch  and  claimed  a  priority  of  water 
right,  but  finally  found  that  we  meant  business  and 
wanted  to  unite  with  us  in  building  a  ditch.  This  we 
refused,  as  they  were  entirely  speculative,  while  we  were 
co-operative  and  our  interests  were  not  compatible  in  any 
respect.  They  lost  about  twelve  hundred  dollars  in  the 
effort.  This  trouble  was  no  comparison  to  our  internal 
trouble,  which  commenced  in  July.  The  foul  brood  came 
early  into  our  colony.  The  busy  bee  has  this  trouble  and 
it  kills  many  colonies  of  them  if  not  eradicated. 

Narrow,  selfish  people  have  no  business  in  a  colony. 
They  breed  discontent  and  look  with  jealous  eyes  on  every 
move  that  is  made  and  make  it  a  personal  matter  to  find 
fault  on  all  occasions.  Some  such  found  us  very  early; 
one  L.  L.  Miller  and  one  L.  L.  Gifford,  who  were  full  of 
theoretical  socialism,  and  could  lean  on  a  shovel  handle 
and  build  castles  for  a  king. 

These  two  philosophers  soon  found  fault  with  the 
manager,  B.  L.  Smith,  and  enlarged  on  every  fault  until 
they  formed  a  clique  of  sore-heads  and  conspired  to  take 
a  contract,  for  a  district  school  house,  which  they  knew 
the  colony  was  figuring  on.  When  they  found  they  were 
defeated,  they  conspired  to  make  the  colony  lose  money 
on  the  contract.  In  this  they  were  again  defeated  and 
two  out  of  three  left  the  colony.     The  one  who  remained 


—57— 

should  have  been  put  out  then  and  there  and  saved  much 
subsequent  trouble.  This  loquacious  seedling  never  lost 
a  chance  to  blast  the  colony  to  any  stranger  he  thought 
might  be  seeking  information.  Some  could  see  at  once 
that  he  was  a  windbag  and  paid  no  attention  to  him,  but 
not  so  with  some  people,  who  are  always  looking  for  all 
the  ill  things  they  can  learn  of  an  honest  enterprise,  and 
they  are  the  first  persons  to  be  caught  in  a  broken  bank  or  a 
snide  investment. 

In  September,  1895,  Mrs.  Anna  L.  Diggs  came  to 
Colorado  in  the  interest  of  the  Columbia  Co-operative 
Colony.  The  principals  lived  in  or  about  Topeka,  Kansas. 
She  was  looking  up  a  location  and  had  visited  several 
states,  south  and  west,  but  had  failed  to  find  the  promised 
land,  and  was  disappointed  in  the  one  she  came  to  see  in 
Colorado,  called  Ute  Park,  and  hearing  of  the  C.  C.  C, 
called  upon  the  writer  for  information  concerning  the 
possibility  of  uniting  us.  There  seemed  no  great  obstruc- 
tion to  a  united  effort  to  get  out  the  ditch  together.  She 
decided  to  go  on  a  tour  of  investigation  and  telegraphed 
Dr.  McLallin,  of  the  "Topeka  Advocate,"  to  join  her  here 
and  go  down  and  inspect,  and  were  joined  by  W.  G.  M. 
Stone  and  others,  of  Denver.  The  colony  team  met  them 
at  Placerville,  the  nearest  road  point,  and  took  them  to 
Naturita. 

They  were  taken  over  the  land,  shown  the  coal  crop- 
pings,  and  the  San  Miguel  River,  and  were  more  than 
pleased  with  the  location,  so  much  so,  that  they  decided 
at  once  to  join  us  as  individuals  and  take  chances  on 
their  people  being  satisfied  with  the  choice  made.  They 
firmly  believed  that  they  could  bring  with  them  one  hun- 
dred families,  and  send  us  one  thousand  dollars  in  six 
weeks.       They  were  much  disappointed.      They  did  not 


—58— 

bring  in  but  a  few  members,  and  it  would  have  been  better 
if  we  had  never  seen  one  half  of  them,  but  some  are  good 
members. 

One  young  Blake,  a  bag  of  egotism,  came  from 
Topeka,  had  studied  law,  and,  of  course,  knew  it  all^  made 
his  brags  that  he  would  soon  change  our  constitution  and 
by-laws,  and  put  things  in  good  running  order.  Like 
two  drops  of  water  he  and  Mr.  L.  L.  Gifford  came  in  fulj 
aflSnity,  natural  polarity. 

Soon  another  wise-head  came,  in  the  shape  of  a 
country  editor,  one  Van  Derventer.  Here  was  a  trinity 
of  wisdom  and  added  to  this  came  the  great  civil  engineer 
from  Topeka,  Kansas,  Wetherby  by  name,  who  had  to 
take  lessons  from  Manager  B.  L.  Smith  in  running  a  ditch 
line.  The  iif th  wheel,  to  this  wonderful  vehicle  of  wisdom, 
came  from  Denver,  one  Howard  Stephens,  a  discharged 
street  car  motorneer. 

When  the  camp  was  established  at  Cottonwood,  this 
select  body  of  wisdom  took  possession  of  one  house  and 
started  their  own  mess,  to  boil  down  expenses,  and  show 
the  non-resident  members  how  the  manager  was  speculating 
on  resident  members  by  charging  fifty  cents  a  day  for 
board,  proving  that  he  was  making  ten  dollars  clear  profit 
every  month  on  each  boarder.  Just  think  of  a  man  dig- 
ging a  ditch,  and  living  on  five  dollars  a  month,  while  all 
grading  contractors  charged  their  men  four  dollars  per 
week  for  corn  beef,  black  coffee,  no  butter  or  milk, 
cabbage,  turnips  and  potatoes  as  vegetables.  This  great 
economy  group  lasted  one  month.  Their  stomachs  were 
thin,  but  their  heads  were  plump. 

This  nucleus  of  wisdom  commenced  a  recruiting 
service.  They  were  the  first  to  meet  a  new  member  and 
pour  into  his  ear  that  there  was  trouble  in  the  camp,  and 


—59— 

gave  oat  dark  hints  of  great  waste  and  wrong  manage- 
ment, that  the  whole  system  needed  overhauling  and  a 
new  manager  should  be  appointed,  with  a  lot  of  depart- 
ment managers  under  him.  All  told,  there  were  not 
twenty  men  to  manage,  but  the  colony  was  recruiting 
from  the  outside  rapidly  and  these  conspirators  were 
getting  the  benefit  of  the  unconscious  workers  that  were 
sending  in  bone  and  sinew. 

Finally  the  cap  sheep  of  this  pyramid  of  growing 
wisdom,  came  in  the  form  of  an  ex-congressman,  another 
son  of  Kansas,  one  John  G.  Otis.  Here  was  their  leader, 
an  oily  sleek-pated  bundle  of  plausibility,  of  mature  age 
and  fairly  gifted  with  speech.  He  was  a  man  calculated 
to  draw  to  him  weaker  minds  that  could  not  reason  for 
themselves.  His  mode  of  procedure  made  a  strong  point 
for  him.  He  took  the  pick  and  shovel  in  hand  and 
labored  on  the  ditch  by  day.  Each  lick  that  he  struck, 
was  accompanied  with  the  thought  that,  "I,  John  G.  Otis, 
will  soon  be  the  guiding  mind,  in  this  colony,  that  shall 
direct  and  govern  all  its  moves,  instead  of  being  a  day 
worker  with  the  common  herd.  I  will  be  its  master  mind." 
No  one,  at  that  time,  could  tell  where  he  stood.  He  was 
not  yet  identified  with  the  small  gang  of  malcontents. 
The  annual  election  was  near  at  hand,  to  elect  a  full  board 
of  directors,  and  the  gang  was  preparing  the  great  civil 
engineer,  Wetherby,  for  director  and  their  only  hope  to 
elect  him  was  through  a  new  enactment,  called  the  cum- 
ulative vote.  Where  a  few  can  vote  if  nine  are  to  be 
elected,  voting  nine  times  for  one  candidate  and  five  times 
nineelected  Wetherby  on  the  board.  Otis,  being  nominated 
went  in  like  a  shot  by  the  unsuspecting  majority,  and 
was  made  vice-president  of  the  board. 

After  that  occurrence  his  open  and  hostile  work  com- 


-   60— 

menced  against  the  management.  The  cloven  foot  was  no 
longer  concealed,  his  tactics  were  brought  into  full  play. 
He  covered  whole  sheets  of  paper  with  resolutions  for 
every  meeting,  and  shot  his  sarcasm  right  into  everything, 
kept  the  meetings  running  until  after  midnight  on  some 
visionary  plan  of  running  things. 

Soon  after  the  election,  he  was  reinforced  by  J.  H. 
Goldworthy  and  R.  B.  Frye.  The  last  named  stated  that 
he  had  come  two  thousand  miles  to  regulate  things  in  the 
Colorado  Co-operative  Colony.  He  had  great  confidence  in 
his  full  ability  to  show  the  originators  how  to  run  a  colony. 
Goldworthy  had  announced  his  great  experience  in  ditch 
construction,  by  having  built  several  difficult  ditches  in 
this  state,  and  this  opened  the  way  to  put  him  in  charge 
of  the  work,  in  preference  to  all  others.  He  soon  proved 
to  be  ignorant,  of  what  he  professed,  in  almost  every 
respect,  and  made  our  first  mile  of  ditch  the  most  expen- 
sive one  on  the  whole  line,  and,  worst  of  all,  he  was  bull- 
headed  about  it,  insisting  that  he  could  make  a  ditch  stand 
run  through  a  bed  of  gypsum,  without  iluming  and  that 
it  was  better  to  carry  storm  water  over  than  under  a  ditch 
at  the  intersection  of  large  ravines.  This  led  general 
manager  Smith  to  suspect  he  was  an  impostor  and  he  wrote 
to  a  friend  at  Golden,  Colorado,  inquiring  if  Goldworthy 
had  the  contract  to  build  that  ditch  near  Golden  and  asked 
what  sort  of  a  reputation  he  bore.  He  soon  got  a  reply 
that  he  did  not  bear  a  good  reputation  in  any  respect,  that 
he  had  been  an  inmate  of  our  state  prison  two  years  for 
stealing  cattle  and  had  never  had  a  contract  at  Golden  on 
the  ditch  but  worked  on  it  as  a  common  hand.  Smith 
also  had  a  letter,  from  the  warden  of  the  penitentiary^ 
verifying  this  man's  statement  about  the  imprisonment 
and  the  crime. 


—61— 

Manager  Smith  read  these  important  letters  at  a 
regular  ineeting  in  Goldworthy's  presence.  He  acknowl- 
edged that  he  had  served  tlie  time  stated,  but  said  he  was 
innocent  of  the  crime.  This  was  a  hard  blast  on  one  of 
the  leading  lights  of  this  conspiracy,  which  was  being 
backed  by  sixteen  others  at  that  time,  who  claimed  to 
carry  more  intellect  than  all  others  in  the  ranks. 

Fourteen  of  their  number  had  made  a  nine  day 
pilgrimage,  to  the  lower  end  of  the  valley,  on  the  pretense 
of  locating  land.  It  leaked  out  that  they  laid  out  a  toy 
town,  made  a  map,  named  the  place  under  a  new  organ- 
ization, elected  officers,  made  speeches,  denouncing  the 
old  camp,  burned  Smith  in  effigy  and  buried  him  on  the 
banks  of  the  roaring  Tabawatch  and  came  back  to  camp 
and  stated  that  they  had  located  on  over  four  thousand 
acres  of  land.  They  felt  sure  of  their  ultimate  control  of 
the  old  colony,  in  all  things,  and  did  not  want  this  rather 
isolated  piece  of  ground  for  any  real  use.  This  was  a 
ruse  to  more  thoroughly  concoct  plans  to  carry  out  their 
capture  and  the  whole  business.  They  wanted  no  listen- 
ing ears,  near  at  hand,  to  annoy  them. 

After  this  escapade  they  grew  more  arrogant,  became 
more  insulting  at  the  meetings,  and,  on  one  occasion, 
Wetherby  took  occasion  to  call  B.  L.  Smith  a  liar,  when 
it  was  uncalled  for,  but  it  was  a  part  of  the  scheme  to 
aggravate  him  to  desperation.  As  he  is  known  to  be  a 
man  of  nerve  and  great  strength,  this  would,  under  ordi- 
nary circumstances,  be  taking  great  chances  of  getting 
black  eyes  and  a  sore  head,  but  B.  L.  Smith  held  his  temper 
to  save  the  colony  any  disgrace  and  a  law  suit  to  disrupt 
it.  Ris  sweet  revenge  came  through  the  peaceful  ballot, 
when  the  board  decided  to  discharge  eight  members  from 
the  work,  two  of  whom  were  on  the  board  of  directors. 


—62— 

It  came  like  a  clap  of  thunder  from  a  clear  sky,  when 
the  vote  was  announced.  John  G.  Otis,  J.  H.  Gold-svorthy? 
Howard  Stephens,  J.  W.  Yan  Deventer,  H.  H.  Crisman, 
W.  H.  Brown,  A.  H.  Wetherby  and  L.  L.  Gifford  were 
expelled  from  the  Colorado  Co-operative  Colony  for -fault 
finding,  mischief  making  and  their  open  avowal  and  de- 
termination never  to  cease  their  opposition  until  the 
organization  was  changed  to  suit  their  opinions. 

The  San  Miguel  turned  its  waters  up  stream,  the 
moon  turned  its  hue  to  blood  red  and  John  G.  Otis 
turned  his  vials  of  wrath  on  the  heads  of  the  devoted 
management  that  had  the  audacity  to  vote  him  out  of  the 
colony,  a  man  without  a  blemish  on  his  character. 

When  he  cooled  off  sufficiently  to  come  to  his  senses 
and  lind  that  he  was  only  a  man,  he  hurried  up  to  Camp 
Cottonwood  to  report  what  had  taken  place.  They  at 
once  made  a  raid  on  the  commissary  supply,  and  about 
cleaned  it  out.  For  this  they  could  have  been  made  to 
suffer  under  the  law  of  the  land  but  this  was  avoided  for 
the  sake  of  quieting  all  disturbance,  with  as  little  pub- 
licity as  possible,  as  any  disturbance  in  the  colony  goes 
like  wild-lire.  They  threatened  sueing  the  colony  for  the 
amount  due  them,  for  cash  paid  in  and  labor  performed^ 
but,  after  cooler  consideration,  thought  it  best  to  settle 
as  best  they  could,  at  the  next  meeting  of  the  board,  and 
remained  on  the  ground  muttering  threats  and  doing  the 
colony  all  possible  injury  they  could  with  investigators, 
and  writing  letters  to  all  points  where  they  could  reach 
the  ear  of  any  one  who  had  been  corresponding  with  us. 
They  sought  the  press  wherever  they  could  to  ventilate 
their  side  of  the  question,  never  admitting  that  they  had 
been  expelled,  but  had  withdrawn  from  the  colony  because 
of  its  bad  laws  and  bad  management. 


—63— 

Every  one  of  them  understood  our  laws  before  they 
joined  us.  There  was  nothing  concealed  and  in  this  con- 
nection I  will  state  that  when  these  people  were  pinned 
down  to  state  their  reasons  of  antagonism  to  manager 
B.  L.  Smith  or  their  cause  of  grievance,  it  was  of  the  most 
trivial  nature,  such  as  men  of  their  pretentions  ought  not 
to  consider  for  a  moment,  unless  they  had  some  ulterior 
object  for  their  action,  based  on  selfish  motives,  to  gain 
control  and  shove  out  all  who  would  not  come  in  under 
their  yoke,  without  respect  to  their  rights  as  the  founders 
of  the  colony  and  all  it  had  gained.  If  they  could  not 
succeed  they  would  ruin  it  if  they  could,  by  falsehood  and 
opposition. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

On  iMay  2nd,  an  amicable  settlement  was  made.  The 
wages  due  them  altogether  were  four  hundred  and  sixty- 
eight  dollars  and  this  was  to  be  paid  in  lumber  and  has 
been  turned  over,  as  per  agreement.  One  hundred  and 
ninety-one  dollars  in  money  was  due  them  and  was  paid 
promptly  in  thirty,  sixty  and  ninety  days  after  this  settle- 
ment. They  formed  a  new  association,  called  the  Altru- 
rian  Associatian.  They  made  their  headquarters  at 
Shennandoah,  eight  miles  from  the  colony  camp.  Here 
thay  made  laws  and  by-laws  and  plans  for  a  large  three 
story  stone  building  as  their  assembly  hall  and  quarters. 
This  was  to  be  built  at  once,  but  five  months  have  passed 
and  not  a  stone  is  in  place  yet. 

They  were  going  to  purchase  sixteen  sections  of  the 
Gurley  Investment  Company  and  failed  to  purchase  one 
acre.  They  then  went  into  a  ditch  contract  with  the 
0-urleys,  under  their  great  ditch  contractor,  Groldworthy. 


—64  — 

They  took  it  so  low  that  they  had  to  throw  it  up.  They 
then  went  to  cutting  hay  on  shares  around  Norw^ood,  and, 
w^hen  through  w^ith  that,  went  into  the  visionary  w-ork  of 
again  building  colonies  on  paper,  sunk  a  well  in  Pinon 
Park,  where  some  government  land  can  be  had,  and  are 
now  planning  a  huge  scheme  to  bring  a  ditch  out  of  the 
San  Miguel  River  to  water  it. 

A  few  of  them  will  remain  while  the  great  heads 
will  go  east  to  set  the  tide  of  emigration  in  motion.  The 
spotless  John  G.  Otis  will  labor  in  Kansas  and  black- 
mailer R.  B.  Fry  will  scour  Old  Pennsylvania  for  recruits. 
This  man  is  the  most  shameless  liar  that  has  found  his 
way  West. 

With  one  or  two  exceptions,  this  little  group  of  men 
have  less  regard  for  the  truth  than  can  be  found  among 
the  same  number  anywhere  else  in  the  world.  I  have 
this  from  personal  knowledge,  as  they  wrote  me  long 
letters,  collectively  and  individually.  They  were  deter- 
mined to  make  me  a  victim  of  their  scheme,  and  con- 
tended all  the  time,  that  I  was  with  them,  to  the  resident 
stockholders,  when  they  knew  that  they  had  not  one  word 
from  me  to  encourage  any  such  thought. 

I  had  one  letter  of  seventeen  pages,  finely  written 
and  signed  by  five  of  their  members,  another  of  eight  or 
ten  pages,  signed  by  about  the  same  number.  I  had  long 
letters  from  Otis,  Goldworthy  and  Chrisman.  I  had  said 
to  them  that  the  greater  part  of  their  complaints  were  not 
well  founded.  I  said:  "If  you  have  any  real  grievances 
put  them  in  the  form  of  a  specific  charge  against  the 
management  and,  if  you  can  sustain  them  with  facts,  I 
will  be  with  you  in  ousting  any  wrong  doer  in  our  ranks." 

To  this  they  made  no  reply  and  one  by  one  stopped 


—65— 

their  complaints  to  me,  yet  holding  that  I  was  with  them 
ill  their  unholy  plan  to  break  up  the  colony  and  control  it, 
regardless  of  the  many  poor  members  that  were  straining 
every  nerve  to  pay  in  money  to  make  a  home  and  save 
themselves  from  pauperism.  I  made  this  appeal  to  these 
conspirators  and  asked  them  to  think  of  what  they  were 
doing  to  injure  other  people  and  to  postpone  any  changes 
until  the  ditch  was  out,  so  that  these  people  might  live  on 
the  land  and  then  if  any  changes  in  laws  were  needed, 
make  them  by  a  majority  vote.  But  no  appeal  could 
reach  their  hearts.  The  one  selfish  idea  of  control  pre- 
vailed. The  spotless  John  G.  Otis  could  see  himself  the 
great  "I  am,"  a  second  Moses,  as  a  law  giver  unto  his 
people,  and  that  thought  alone  made  the  man  the  most 
despicable  character  of  the  whole  mob. 

About  the  time  of  the  climax  about  to  take  place, 
several  committees  from  different  clubs  met  at  Camp 
Cottonwood;  Messrs.  Wilson  and  Winters,  of  the  Chicago 
club,  Mr.  Rosenquent,  of  the  St.  Paul  club,  Mr.  Ruggles, 
of  Osborne,  Kansas,  and  Mr.  Fort,  of  Colby,  Kansas. 
They  arrived  there  in  time  for  one  of  the  monthly  meet- 
ings, were  invited  to  attend  and  were  present  when  Otis 
and  others  offered  resolutions  of  an  aggravating  character, 
did  not  have  the  decency  to  put  themselves  on  their  good 
behavior,  in  tlie  presence  of  strangers  and  seemed  to  take 
the  opportunity  to  show  these  strangers  that  they  had 
some  real  ground  for  their  action. 

These  strangers  formed  themselves  into  a  committee 
of  investigation.  Two  of  them  were  political  friends  of 
Mr.  Otis,  coming  from  his  congressional  district  in  Kansas? 
and  had  voted  to  send  him  to  congress.  These  two  men 
proved  our  best  and  most  staunch  friends,  after  they  had 
fully  investigated  the  situation.  Geo  B.  Ruggles  and 
James  H.  Fort  will  never  be  forgotten  by  the  colony. 


—66— 

This  committee  said  to  the  conspirators:  "We  are 
here  to  look  into  the  colony  affairs  for  ourselves  and 
neighbors.  You  tell  us  there  is  trouble,  and  hint  at  deep 
wrongs  and,  while  your  action  at  the  meeting  last  night 
was  very  aggressive,  we  saw  nothing  but  gentlemanly 
action  on  the  part  of  the  officials  in  power.  We  come,  as 
we  have  a  right  to,  and  ask  you   to  state  your  grievance." 

They  hesitated  to  make  a  statement,  but,  being  ques_ 
tioned  closely,  they  said  they  had  nothing  personal  against 
the  manager,  B.  L.  Smith,  but  objected  to  losing  the 
Blake  land  and  thought  it  was  a  mistake.  "Well,"  said 
the  committee,  "what  else  have  you  in  store  to  kick 
about?"  They  then  found  fault  with  the  time  it  took  to 
get  the  saw  mill  in  place.  Then  the  committee  said  to 
them,  "Was  not  this  Blake  land  leased  previous  to  your 
joining  the  colony?"  "Yes,  it  was."  Well,  we  think  this 
objection  not  well  founded,  and,  as  to  taking  too  much 
time  in  getting  the  saw  mill  in  place  where  snow  and 
wind  had  to  be  contended  with,  we  think  your  objection 
not  well  considered  and  that  it  falls  flat,  on  investigation." 

Mr.  Ruggles  and  Mr.  Fort  joined  us  at  once  and  are 
staunch  members  now.  Mr.  Fort  has  moved  his  entire 
family  and  all  his  effects. 

In  memoriam  of  this  conspiracy,  no  member  who 
took  an  active  part  will  soon  forget  that  it  imperiled  our 
life  as  a  colony;  it  took  sixteen  members  out  of  the  work- 
ing force  at  once,  as  eight  sympathizers  went  with  the 
expelled;  it  frightened  three  Germans  away;  it  kept  the 
Chicago  and  St.  Paul  clubs  from  us;  it  stopped  the  pay- 
ment of  the  Brooklyn  club  and  further  recruiting;  it  kept 
members  from  all  over  the  country  from  coming  in. 
They  expected  that,  of  course,  like  nearly  all  colonies  in 
the  country,  we  would  fall  to  pieces  and  sink  out  of  sight 
like  a  bubble  on  the  sea. 


-67— 

It  was  a  trial  for  the  Denver  club  to  read  the  report 
of  this  exodns,  when  they  had  a  number  of  eager  investi- 
gators almost  ready  to  join;  but  come  it  must,  and  C.  E. 
Smith  read  it  and  then  made  a  short  address,  explaining 
the  cause  and  circumstances  that  brought  about  the 
disaster,  and  the  vote  that  expelled  the  active  eight.  It 
demoralized  some  of  our  members;  others,  it  gave  more 
backbone  and  they  put  in  their  money  more  freely.  One 
young  lady,  Miss  Laura  Nesselrode,  said :  "Here  is  twenty- 
live  dollars  for  Alice  lioony  and  myself.  J!^ow  is  the 
time  you  need  it."  This  was  true.  Mr.  Reed,  a  new 
member,  said:  "I  will  stay  with  you.  It  is  the  best  thing 
that  could  have  happened,  getting  rid  of  those  people  on 
such  easy  terms.  It  will  put  us  back  now,  but  will  prove  a 
blessing  in  the  end.  It  will  show  to  our  co-opei'ative 
friends  that  we  will  not  stand  any  foolishness,  that  we 
mean  business.  It  will  keep  from  our  ranks  the  cranks 
and  visionary  adventurers  that  have  been  the  bane  of  all 
colonies.  P.  B.  Hirsch  of  Pueblo,  said:  "The  board  did 
right  and  I  am  glad  they  did  it.  I  am  with  you  to  all 
intents  and  purposes."  Dr.  Seymoure  of  Kansas,  said: 
*'Now  you  will  prosper.  You  have  weeded  out  the 
nauceous  weeds  that  were  choking  your  life  out." 

These  predictions  are  proving  true.  We  are  going 
on  building,  slowly  but  surely,  gaining  members  and  the 
confidence  of  the  people^far  and  near.  We  keep  our  credit 
good  by  meeting  our  bills,  have  our  own  saw  mill,  our 
own  printing  plant  and  will  publish  our  paper  at  our  prin- 
cipal camp  until  the  ditch  is  on  the  land. 

So  far  every  emergency  has  been  met.  When  we 
could  not  see  our  way  clear  to  go  much  farther  a  way  was 
provided  so  that  we  might  go  on.      if  this  is  to  be  our 


contlnued  good  fortune,  all  difficulties  will  be  surmounted 
and  all  the  hopes  fullilled  that  inspired  its  conception. 

The  Colorado  Co-operative  Company  was  not  formed 
for  selfish  purposes.  Its  motives  are  purely  humanitarian. 
The  only  hope  is  to  unite  in  bettering  the  condition  of 
all  who  come  within  its  gates,  and  to  show  the  world  the 
advantages  that  may  be  derived  from  a  system  of  co-oper- 
ation in  preference  to  competition.  The  one  nnites  and 
inculcates  a  bond  of  unselfish  interest;  the  other  arrays 
man  against  man  in  a  deadly  fight  for  existence.  One 
makes  man  noble  and  independent;  the  other  makes  him 
a  cheat,  a  schemer  and  a  falsifier.  One  inculcates  corrup- 
tion in  everything,  religion  and  politics  which  are  made 
hobbies  in  strife  of  gain  and  are  corrupted  until  the 
original  in  both  has  been  swallowed  up  and  is  no  longer 
recognized;  the  other  purifies  both  by  giving  man  all  he 
needs  with  half  the  effort,  and  opening  up  to  him  higher 
thoughts  of  the  purposes  of  human  life.  One  makes  gold 
a  god;  the  other  makes  principle  the  ideal  to  worship. 
One  builds  up  a  purse-proud  aristocracy  that  has  no 
merit  above  money;  the  other  produces  common  sense? 
moral  uprightness  and  equality.  One  builds  up  syndicates 
and  corporations  to  suppress  and  choke  out  liberty  and 
happiness;  the  other  gives  freedom  and  an  equal  chance 
to  live  and  enjoy  all  the  good  gifts  of  nature.  One  makes 
tramps,  beggars,  drunkards  and  thieves;  the  other  makes 
temperance,  insures  homes  and  gives  all  the  neccessities 
of  life — hence  there  is  no  neccessity  to  beg  or  steal. 

If  this  is  anarchy,  anarchy  goes  with  us  while  our 
head  is  hot  and  our  heart  beats  are  regular.  Give  us 
anarchy  all  the  time.  Our  personal  relations  to  this  colony 
have  deeply  interested  us,  through  sunshine  and  darkness 
and  clouds  of  despondency  that  have  come  and  gone  in  the 


—69— 

past  twelve  months.  When  thoughts  came  to  us  that  we 
were  about  to  reach  a  point  that  would  turn  the  tide  in 
our  favor,  some  reverses  would  come  to  turn  the  table  on 
us. 

Some  have  suspected  that  we  were  in  it  for  some 
speculation,  a  few  giving  us  credit  for  higher  motives. 
We  know,  within  our  own  minds,  our  motives  and  shall 
not  be  discouraged  by  any  idle  gossip  that  may  emanate 
in  a  disordered  brain.  We  fully  realize  the  tendency  of 
many  people  to  impugn  the  motives  of  others  and  no  one 
escapes  their  criticism.  They  are  not  generally  buildei'S 
of  anything  that  is  not  entirely  selfish  and  they  are  sus- 
picious of  any  one  that  is  not  of  their  w^ay  of  thinking. 

The  history  of  our  country  shows  how  the  best  of 
men  who  saved  us  from  English  tyranny  by  fighting  the 
battles  and  sacrificing  all  they  had  for  freedom,  came 
under  the  lash  of  suspicion,  when  the  smoke  was  cleared 
away.  The  Father  of  our  Country  was  denounced  as  a 
tyrant  and  aristocrat  in  the  presidential  chair  and  accused 
of  favoring  monarchy  and  overdrawing  his  salary. 

In  view  of  this  no  one  in  the  ordinary  path  of  life  can 
expect  exemption.  The  darts  of  narrow  minds  that  fill 
space  in  all  parts  of  the  world  must  be  shot  at  some  one 
and  we  expect  to  take  our  share,  and  go  on  with  our  work 
just  the  same,  not  seeking  praise  or  profit,  but  success, 
our  highest  aim.  Let  the  wild  winds  blow  and  the  silly 
goose  chatter;  time  alone  will  prove  all  things  for  or 
against  us.  If  any  are  worthy  of  confidence,  the  well 
inclined  will  discover  it  and  bestow  it  in  the  proper  time 
and  place.  That  which  we  cannot  control  will  always 
menace  mankind;  and  I,  as  one,  like  a  little  drop  of  w^ater 
in  the  ocean,  can  fill  my  little  as  all  that  have  passed  and 
will  pass  for  all  eternity,  and  go  on  with  the  never  ending 


—70— 

procession,  believing  if  we  do  about  right  that  we  will  find 
the  gates  ajar  for  us  to  learn  more  and  be  more  in  a 
higher  calling  than  this  world  affords. 

Having  had  a  hard  struggle  in  the  world  as  a  boy,  as 
a  man  past  the  meridian  of  life  I  can  fully  appreciate  the 
situation  of  those  who  have  no  homes  or  any  liable  mode 
of  maintaining  themselves  without  employment  as  a  wage 
worker  for  someone  who  needs  their  work.  This  is  one  of 
my  motives  for  being  identified  with  the  Colorado  Co- 
operative Colony  in  this  effort  to  gain  a  home  and  thereby 
make  each  one  more  independent,  who  embraces  this 
opportunity.  I  wish  with  all  my  heart  and  soul  to  see 
every  worthy  man  and  woman  have  a  home  and  all  the 
necessaries  of  life  and  not  be  under  the  whip  of  corpor- 
ations. I  can  see  plainly  how  this  could  be  obtained  by 
co-operation  and  a  few  years  of  patient  toil. 

One  must  have  patience  these  times.  Quick  fortunes 
are  a  thing  of  the  past  and  never  should  have  existed. 
When  one  man  piles  up  a  fortune  it  is  usually  at  the  loss 
of  many  others,  except  in  the  discovery  of  rich  mines  or 
oil  wells.  Rapid  money  makers  are  not  contented  people 
and  socially  are  not  very  entertaining.  Only  the  one  idea 
moves  them  and  that  is  gain.  They  oftener  die  poor  than 
the  one  who  gains  slowly  and  by  hard  stages  gains  a 
competency. 

The  money  god  has  superceded  all  other  gods  and  is 
fast  killing  all  who  cannot  worship  at  his  shrine.  He  sets 
son  against  father  and  brother  against  brother;  he  builds 
a  wall  between  them,  solely  on  the  difference  of  posses- 
sion. Poverty  is  a  crime  in  his  opinion  and  he  spurns  it 
with  a  superiority  that  is  born  in  a  wild  and  insane  am- 
bition to  be  superior  to  his  fellow-man,  on  the  basis  of 
gold  alone. 


—71— 
CHAPTEH  X. 

In  December,  1896,  the  Colorado  Co-operative  Colony 
had  fifty-six  new  members.  In  was  supposed  that  this 
influx,  all  in  one  month,  was  caused  by  a  published  notice 
that  the  membership  share  would  be  advanced  after 
January  1st,  1897,  to  comply  with  a  resolution  to  that 
effect.  Be  that  as  it  may,  very  few  active  workers  in  the 
colony  had  thought  it  worth  while  to  instruct  their  proxies 
against  a  raise.  There  was  no  justification  for  it  in  our 
laws  of  incorporation  or  in  our  principles,  advocated  in 
co-operation  for  the  brotherhood  of  man,  or  for  the  wave 
of  prosperity  that  would  turn  our  heads  back  to  old  com- 
petition and  speculation  and  make  us  forget  our  promises 
to  build  up  a  home  place  where  a  frugal  man,  though 
poor,  could  have  a  home  as  cheap  as  land  and  water  could 
be  had  in  Uncle  Sam's  domain.  But  we  are  ashamed  to 
record  the  fact  that  membership  was  doubled  on  the 
ground  that  it  was  worth  double  the  amount  in  a  stock 
jobber's  view  and  must  be  put  up.  Poor,  narrow  man! 
When  will  you  break  your  shell  of  blind  selfishness  and 
crawl  out  in  the  sunlight  of  a  higher  thought  than  gold! 
gold!  gold!  which  you  worship  by  day  and  dream  of 
at  night,  forgetting  that  you  are  human  and  your  life  here 
is  short  and  hangs  on  a  hair  of  uncertain  strength  which 
may  break  and  plunge  you  into  a  new  condition,  where 
your  gold  cannot  follow  you. 

On  January  2nd,  1897,  the  annual  election  of  the 
colony  board  of  directors  was  held  at  Pinon,  the  center 
ditch  camp.  For  some  time  previous  to  the  election, 
mutterings  of  dissatisfaction  were  manifest  about  certain 
ones  of  the  old  board,  who  had  rendered  themselves  very 
unpopular  in  various  ways,  and  it  was  determined  to  retire 
them   to  the  common    ranks    of    membership  to  get  the 


—72— 

swelling  out  of  their  heads  and  save  them  from  danger  of 
collapse  by  a  farther  strain  on  the  bone  structure. 

Letters  had  passed  between  the  members  of  the  Den- 
ver club  on  furthering  a  change,  and  a  fair  understanding 
was  arrived  at,  as^  to  who  should  be  placed  on  the  board  to 
fill  places.  A  clique  had  been  formed  under  the  guiding 
spirit  of  B.  L.  Smith  who,  in  some  unimaginable  way,  had 
allied  himself  with  men  whom  he  knew  and  had  acknowl- 
edged in  letters  to  his  brothers,  were  incompetent  to  fill 
their  places.  No  one  was  opposing  his  re-election  on  the 
board  and  many  desired  that  he  be  made  president,  lie 
was  made  aware  of  this  by  the  writer  and  others,  but  this 
did  not  satisfy  his  dominant  spirit,  he  contending  that 
those  chosen  to  run  were  not  well  selected  and,  if  elected, 
would  bring  the  colony  to  ruin.  He  went  so  far  as  to 
make  a  charge  against  some  of  them  for  dishonesty,  and 
dragging  their  domestic  affairs  into  publicity. 

On  investigation  we  iind  no  foundation  to  sustain  any 
of  these  charges  as  serious  facts  that  would  mitigate 
against  these  people.  It  seemed  to  have  eminated  from 
a  jealous,  diseased  brain  which  feared  to  trust  a  change, 
lest  new  blood  would  not  mould  as  putty  in  their  hands, 
and  he  would  be  forced  to  acknowledge  their  superior 
ability  in  handling  co-lony  affairs,  which  must  not  advance 
beyond  a  certain  limit. 

This  is  sustained  by  the  fact  that  all  of  this  small 
clique  want  to  maintain  the  two  hundred  dollar  clause 
while  ninety  percent,  are  against  it.  They  fear  the  incom- 
ing of  brains  that  can  see  through  the  narrow  policy 
under  which  the  colony  business  has  been  run,  can  see 
how  a  few  favored  ones  hold  soft  jobs  under  the  pet  system 
waste  time  and  get  full  credit  for  it  on  money  paid  in,  made 
by  the  sweat  of  the  brows  of  many,  hopeful  for  a  home. 


—73— 

Thi8  March  4th,  1897,  two  months  after  the  colony 
election,  not  a  new  name  has  been  added  to  our  member- 
ship list,  yet  this  wise  leader  of  the  small  clique  says  if, 
by  a  called  meeting,  this  clause  is  changed  back  to  the  old 
one  of  one  hundred  dollars  for  a  membership,  he  will 
resign  his  position  as  president  and  a  member  of  the  board, 
being  unwilling  to  stand  by  his  post  if  a  majority  rules 
against  his  opinions  on  this  matter  which  is  so  vital  to  the 
colony  success  and  so  shuts  the  door  against  those  who 
have  little  means  and  are  seeking  our  colony  as  a  haven  of 
hope  for  a  home  that  could  not  come  in  before.  This  is 
Altruism  with  a  vengeance  indeed. 


How  did  he  get  his  high  position  that  makes  his 
rulings  law,  partial  as  they  may  be?  He  got  it  by  decep- 
tion. He  deceived  his  own  brother  by  a  misleading 
promise.  That  was,  that  he  and  his  clique  would  not  use 
the  cumulative  vote  at  the  election  of  the  board,  that  on 
the  morning  of  the  election  he  would  make  a  talk  against 
it.  He  never  intended  to  make  this  talk.  He  simply 
read  the  law  on  this  subject,  knowing  full  well  that  his 
pets,  Robinson,  Bramier  and  Yeitch  would  be  elected  by 
this  very  vote,  while  had  he  made  a  manly  declaration 
that  it  was  legal  and  that  his  clique  would  use  it,  then  the 
majority  would  not  have  voted  for  him  or  for  Chatfield. 
They  by  cumulating  their  lifty-five  votes  on  three  men, 
elected  them  by  a  straight  majority  vote,  leaving  his 
clique  in  the  minority  and  himself  out  in  the  cold.  This, 
in  brief,  is  the  conduct  of  B.  L.  Smith  in  the  colony  to 
date.  What  he  may  do  to  injure  its  success  is  yet  to  be 
written.  It  seems  from  what  this  two-sided  man  said  in 
moments  of  anger  that  he  has  an  insane  belief  that  this 
colony  cannot  exist  if  he  is  not  the  head  and  front  of  it 
for  all  time,  and  is  jealous  of  all  new  comers,  who,  by 


—74— 

their  good  behavior  or  ability,  become  popular  and  are  in 
his  way  and  he  cannot  hide  his  feelings  toward  them. 

This  is  his  weakness  as  a  man,  from  our  standpoint, 
and  if  we' are  correct  we  pity  him  as  this  overshadows  all 
his  noble  traits  of  character,  that  would  make  him  a  power 
in  any  colony  or  community.  He  has  stood  in  the  fore  as 
the  bulwark  of  our  hopes,  until  now  when  he  takes  to  his 
bosom  incompetents  drones  and  mischief  makers  as  his 
first  and  best  friends.  He  has  forfeited  the  confidence  of 
all  his  oldest  and  best  friends  and  of  three  of  his  own  bro- 
thers, w^io  are  members  of  the  colony  and  cannot  account 
for  his  strange  and  obstinate  course  only  on  the  basis  of 
jealousy.  Had  the  writer  any  reasonable  way  of  clearing 
away  the  fog  that  envelopes  this  man's  actions  of  rule  or 
ruin,  he  would  gladly  do  it.  But  it  is  impossible,  forming 
our  judgment  from  his  own  words  and  actions  which  seal 
and  set  our  ouinions. 

L 

The  meetincr  is  called  in  advance  of  the  leturn  of 
petitions,  demanding  a  called  meeting  of  stockholders. 
May  1st,  is  the  time  indicated  by  the  master  of  ceremonies 
for  gathering  to  settle  the  fate  of  this  struggling,  hopeful 
body  of  people.  Many  are  awaiting  the  result  of  this 
meeting  as  the  turning  point  for  success  or  final  ruin.  It 
is  evident  to  every  thinking  man  that  the  present  man- 
agement is  incompetent  and  has  lost  the  confidence  of  the 
majority  of  members.  The  warning  signal  of  danger  is 
in  every  mind  that  feels  any  interest  in  the  colony  move- 
ments of  the  monopoly-ridden  land  we  are  living  in. 

The  little  Denver  band  is  straining  every  nerve, 
making  every  sacrifice,  while  our  good  brothers,  P.  B. 
Hirsch,  of  Pueblo,  R.  E.  Cooper,  of  Palco,  Kansas,  Geo. 
B.  Ruggles,  of  Osborne,  Kansas,  and  H.  Epperson,  of 
Julesburg,  Colorado,  are  with   us  to  save  the  sinking  &hip, 


—75— 

loaded  with  many  hopes  for  homes  and  a  happy  future, 
and  hard  earned  dollars.  If  we  believed  in  the  efficacy  of 
prayer  we  would  try  it  in  this  effort  to  turn  the  tide  of 
selfishness  that  is  cramping  all  our  hopes.  We  would 
turn  it  on  full  force,  backed  by  hard  work  in  the  crank 
movement. 

CHAPTER  XI. 

April  20th,  1897. 
The  time  is  drawing  near  for  the  second  crisis  of  our 
colony  life  in  twelve  months.  The  Otis  conspiracy  came 
to  a  climax  on  the  11th  day  of  April,  1896.  JSTow  we  are 
confronted  with  the  B.  L.  Smith  conspiracy  which  is 
founded  on  as  sellish  and  stubborn  grounds  as  the  first,  to 
be  settled  on  May  1st,  1897.  All  work  is  suspended  for 
the  colony.  Money  has  stopped  coming  in.  Supplies  are 
very  short  for  man  and  beast.  Some  are  clearing  away 
rubbish  on  some  patches  of  tillable  land,  leading  water  to 
it,  so  that  they  may  raise  something  to  eat.  Some  are 
placer  mining  on  the  banks  of  the  San  Miguel  River. 

T.  O.  Smith  and  William  Wotherspoon  have  gone  as 
the  advance  guard  to  the  front  to  reconnoiter  and  consult 
with  the  true  friends  of  the  colony,  who  stand  as  a  bul- 
wark against  the  conspirators  who  are  planning  to  hold 
tlieir  ill-gotten  power  over  the  will  of  the  majority  through 
some  cunning  skullduggery. 

H.  E.  Robinson  has  just  gone  back  from  Denver,  to 
report  his  success  in  turning  people  to  his  master's  wilb 
so  that  he  may  continue  in  favor  and  be  called  secretary? 
if  only  of  a  hole  in  the  ground.     Oh,  how  we  apples  float! 

These  uprisings  of  greed  in  colonies  that  profess  one 
thing  and    practice    another,    are    as    hypocritical  as  the 


—76— 

churches,  and  all  such  members  that  seek  colonies,  are 
only  within  its  gates  for  self-aggrandizement,  not  for  any 
good  feeling  for  their  fellow-man. 

Any  man  or  woman  that  has  fallen  below  the  line  of 
common  justice  and  will  watch  for  small  flaws  in  a  neigh- 
bor's life  and  make  mountains  out  of  them,  is  not  a  lit 
subject  for  any  colony.  Such  should  be  made  to  live  in 
isolated  and  lonely  abodes  or  in  low  districts  of  the  city 
slums,  under  the  vigilant  eyes  of  the  city  officials  so  that 
their  tongues  may  be  called  to  a  halt  under  the  restraint 
of  the  law. 

I  very  much  regret  to  speak  thus  in  relation  to  any 
whom  we  have  within  our  fold,  and  I  sincerely  hope  we 
may  never  have  occasion  to  pluck  out  tares  or  obnoxious 
weeds  to  free  the  grain  from  contamination.  We  are 
aware  that  we  are  dealing  with  human  nature  that  is  full 
of  faults  and  frailties  that  are  not  easily  changed,  but  let 
us  try  to  do  our  best  to  show  by  our  works  the  faith  in  us 
as  co-operators,  not  alone  for  gain  and  self  protection,  but 
for  mutual  good,  which  may  be  enlarged  and  revised  un- 
til every  one  may  feel  its  influence. 

Cast  the  mantle  of  charity  over  those  who  try  hardest 
to  overcome  inborn  faults;  give  them  all  possible  en- 
couragement to  stand  on  higher  ground  so  that  the  eternal 
breakers  may  fall  short  of  reaching  them ;  fill  the  gossiper's 
mind  with  more  generous  food;  don't  lend  a  listening  ear 
to  fault  finders  who  can  see  the  faults  in  other  people's 
characters  and  snow  white  garments,  but  no  blotches  for 
themselves.  It  is  our  friends  who  see  our  faults  and  tell 
us  how  to  mend  them;  it  is  our  enemies  who  see  our 
faults  and  peddle  them  out  on  the  sly,  then  smile  in  our 
faces  when  they  meet  us. 


—77— 

Sneaking  jealousy  is  one  of  the  lowest  traits  of 
human  nature.  It  lives  on  all  the  poison  of  a  low  instinct 
and  strikes  its  fangs  into  all  things  as  the  mad  dog  or 
blind  snake,  to  ease  an  overburdened  condition  of  venom, 
ready  at  all  times,  to  give  pain  in  the  place  of  pleasure. 
They  prefer  discord  to  harmony.  They  would  rather  hate 
than  love.  Like  vultures,  they  hover  over  the  misfortunes 
of  the  fallen  and  pick  their  bones  with  greedy  delight. 

OHAPTEK  XII. 

On  May  1st,  the  called  meeting  assembled  at  Pinon 
according  to  the  call  made.  Mr.  Geo.  B.  Ruggles,  of 
Osborne,  Kansas,  Mr.  R.  E.  Cooper  and  wife,  from  Palco' 
Kansas,  H.  Epperson,  of  Julesburg,  Colo.,  Mrs.  Hattie 
Wright,  Mr.  J.  Gabriel,  T.  O.  Smith,  William  Wother- 
spoon,  C.  E.  Smith  and  E.  L.  Gallatin,  all  of  Denver,  and 
Mrs.  Barnes,  of  Washington,  D.  C,  took  the  Rio  Grande 
train  for  Placerville  on  the  27th  of  April,  and  were  met 
by  W.  J.  Sage  and  J.  O.  Smith  at  Placerville  with  wagons 
to  transport  the  earnest  members  to  the  scene  of  action  at 
Pinon.  Two  .days  of  consultation  outlined  the  plan  of 
procedure  for  the  majority  of  the  members,  who  wished  to 
settle  matters  with  as  little  friction  as  possible,  as  the 
public  airing  of  colony  affairs  is  not  desirable  at  any  time- 
The  public  sentiment  is  watching  with  a  jealous  eye  every 
movement  made  by  colonies,  and  it  augments  into  wonders 
as  it  flies  from  ear  to  ear. 

We  found  a  stubborn  minority  in  position  to  give  us 
all  the  trouble  they  could,  to  displace  them  of  offices  ob- 
tained by  scheming  and  were  using  them  in  the  face  of 
ruin  to  satisfy  a  foolish  ambition  to  be  on  top.  Robinson 
as  secretary,  read  the  roll  call  with  trembling  hands  and  a 
choking  voice.  He  got  through  with  it  and  sank  into  his 
seat.     B    L.  Smith,  as  president  of  the  board,  asked  the 


—78— 

pleasure  of  the  meeting.  In  a  moment  O.  C.  Springer 
moved  to  continue  Mr.  Smith  in  the  chair  as  a  right  of 
his  position  as  president  on  the  board.  At  this  moment 
T.  O.  Smith  moved  to  call  Mr.  Gabriel  to  the  chair  in 
obeyance  to  all  rules  and  rights  of  stockholders  who 
assemble  to  make  laws  or  elect  directors.  After  some 
discussion  of  the  subject  on  the  part  of  Messrs.  Springer 
and  Gabriel,  the  yeas  and  nays  were  taken  as  to  whether 
this  right  rested  with  the  stockholders  or  not,  and  it  was 
emphatically  decided  that  they  held  the  right.  A  stand- 
ing vote  was  called  for,  which  was  so  certain  and  strong 
that  B.  L.  Smith  had  to  step  down  and  give  way  for 
Mr.  Gabriel,  who  appointed  his  committees  and  a  recess 
was  called  to  give   them  time  to  report  at  7  o'clock  A.  M. 

On  assembling  it  was  purposed  to  cast  ballots  for  the 
selected  directors  by  committee  enmasse,  and  cut  matters 
short  in  the  way  of  contest,  which  was  accepted  and  the 
result  announced,  making  almost  a  clean  sweep  of  the  old 
board,  retaining  the  most  tricky  members  for  seed  of  the 
past  blundering  of  the  new  board,  R.  E.  Cooper,  M.  D. 
Bowen,  H.  E.  Broman,  I.  W.  Smith,  M.  I.  Sag^e,  C 
E.  Brooks,  J.  H.  Bramier,  O.  C.  Springer  and  Yeitch. 
The  last  three  being  the  choice  of  the  conspirators  had 
held  the  lines  to  ruin. 

This  ended  the  second  battle  for  the  life  of  the  colony. 
On  the  following  day  a  board  meeting  was  held  and  offices 
filled;  Geo.  B.  Huggles  being  selected  for  general  manager 
until  his  place  could  be  filled  permanently.  0.  E.  Brooks 
was  elected  president,  R.  E.  Cooper,  vice-president,  M. 
D.  Bowen,  secretary,  J.  W.  Smith,  treasurer.  Confidence 
was  again  restored  and  all  reported  ready  for  work,  and 
the  visiting  members  were  getting  ready  to  return  to 
their  homes  to  convey  the  glad    tidings  of  a  settlement 


—79- 

of  pending  difficulties  to  their  friends  and  the  metnbere 
who  had  their  all  at  stake. 

The  thought  of  seeing  your  ideal  building  torn  to 
ehreds  by  foolish  dissension,  say  nothing  of  the  financial 
loss,  is  as  sad  a  grievance  as  that  of  losing  a  cherished 
friend.  Such  was  the  intensity  of  feeling  in  this  quiet 
and  orderly  meeting  that  no  one,  not  knowing  its  purposes, 
would  have  suspected  for  a  naornent  the  stern  determina- 
tion to  save,  if  possible,  the  colony  from  the  history  of  its 
many  predecessors,  from  the  pit  dug  for  it  by  foolish 
ambition  to  rule  or  ruin.  It  took  nerve  and  cool  heads  to 
eteer  clear  of  snags  and  torpedoes,  planted  for  de- 
struction. 

Once  more  the  ship  is  afloat,  laden  with  hopes  that  a 
fair  wind  may  fill  its  sails  with  energy  that  will  land  us  in 
a  safe  harbor,  beyond  possible  failure,  before  another 
meeting  can  form  into  life.  How  thoughts  reflect  is  well 
illustrated  in  this  conflict.  The  clique  had  announced 
that,  when  they  got  matters  in  full  control,  all  who  did 
not  come  under  their  yoke,  made  by  them,  would  have  to 
find  new  homes,  and,  when  they  found  themselves  beaten, 
seemed  to  think  they  deserved  the  treatment  they  had 
intended  to  give  others.  The  majority  leaders  never  once 
thought  of  nominating  or  expelling  any  one  opposed  to 
them,  if  they  were  willing  to  work  and  behave  them- 
selves in  a  manner  becoming  good  members  and  citizens 
of  the  United  States.  It  has  been  plainly  set  forth  in  our 
paper,  time  and  time  again,  that  we  did  not  invite  people 
who  would  not  work,  or  those  expecting  to  find  soft  jobs 
by  scheming  for  them  in  the  colony,  when  they  are  able 
bodied  men  and  women.  Just  why  such  have  sought  us 
is  passing  strange,  if  they  have  any  sense  of  decency  left 
in  their  composition. 


—80— 

Personally,  I  should  not  feel  welcome  at  a  private 
honse  if  I  was  not  invited.  Some  who  will  work  but  are 
not  content  to  share  honors  equally,  are  a  dangerous 
element  to  success.  They  are  continually  finding  fault 
and  do  not  offer  any  assistance  or  remedy  for  these  faults, 
but  magnify  them  into  crime.  It  is  wrong  to  pull  some 
one  down  to  build  a  foundation  for  others  to  stand  on  and 
no  man  or  woman  should  rise  on  such  an  unfair  basis  or 
principle  and  no  true  co  operation  will,  and  the  sooner 
this  is  understood  among  our  people  the  sooner  we  will 
have  harmony,  and  then  our  theory  will  go  into  practice 
until  we  can  accomplish  wonders  that  will  astonish  our- 
selves and  all  advocates  of  competition.  Why  not  bury 
their  selfish  ambition  and  await  results?  If  we  make  a 
stand  against  old  customs  let  us  do  it  in  some  positive 
manner  and  live  up  to  it.  It  is  abortive  to  do  things  by 
halves.     It  makes  us  appear  as  pretenders. 

The  colony  has  just  learned  some  valuable  lessons. 
Members  cried  justice,  honesty  and  brotherhood  when 
they  had  schemed  to  liv^e  out  of  the  scanty  food  placed 
there  by  hands  calloused  to  get  a  home.  Those  that  were 
in  power  winked  at  this  cool  conduct  and  assisted  them  in 
their  dastardly  act,  crying  dishonesty  against  those  who 
oppose  this  wrong,  but  the  indignant  majority  arose  in  its 
might  to  crush  out  this  octopus  that  was  reaching  out  for 
spoils,  to  dry  up  the  fountain  of  hope  set  flowing  by  some 
of  these  self-same  pretenders,  three  years  ago,  men  that 
could  talk  of  the  beauties  of  co-operation  by  the  hour. 
Their  love  for  their  fellow  man  was  as  rich  as  a  Jersey 
cow's  cream. 

Castles  of  precious  stones  were  none  too  good  for 
those  that  would  join  in  this  noble  work  of  home  building. 
Each  man  and  woman  would  be  a  part  of  this  small  era- 


pire  that  was  to  rise  in  a  united  effort,  superior  to  its 
surroundings.  The  warna  hand  of  fellowship  was  to  wel- 
come each  new  arrival  in  the  promised  land. 

How  different  some  who  came  a  long  distance  by 
team,  found  it.  Old  people  were  not  asked  to  share  a 
colony  roof  in  the  time  of  a  storm,  by  the  proper  author- 
ities, but,  thank  the  stars,  we  had  some  made  of  ''pure 
wool  and  a  yard  wide"  co-operators  that  did  not  wait  for 
the  big  chief  to  call  his  medicine  man  to  look  cross-eyed 
at  these  people  and  see  if  they  were  the  right  sort  of 
people  to  be  with,  and  had  not  passed  through  Denver. 
It  made  a  big  difference  whether  he  said:  "McCarty^ 
come  out,"  or,    "Come  out,  McCarty." 

The  arrival  of  the  Ohio  delegation  met  the  approval 
of  the  l)ig  chief.  They  were  made  welcome  and  the  fatted 
calf  was  killed.  They  were  used  to  good  things.  They 
were  God's  chosen  people.  The  farmers  along  the  line 
of  their  travel  to  the  promised  land,  made  burnt  offerings 
to  these  holy  people,  chickens,  pigs,  turkeys,  corn,  pota- 
toes, in  fact,  all  they  needed  without  price.  They  did 
miracles  with  cards  to  get  a  little  cash  and  showed  the 
verdant  people  how  they  could  converse  with  the  angels 
through  an  instrument  made  by  Edison  for  their  special 
use.     (Great  rejoicing). 

The  liigh  priest  of  the  Ohio  delegation  being  a  fine 
haired  dentist,  aimounced  that  he  did  not  come  to  wield 
the  pick  and  shovel  on  the  ditch,  had  no  money  to  put  in 
to  pay  others  for  work  or  for  his  board,  but  must  necessar- 
ily live  on  some  one's  earnings.  But  Cottonwood  camp 
people  would  not  have  their  teeth  plugged  or  pulled  and 
pay  three  prices  for  it;  so  Bro.  E.  G.  Brown  retired  from 
the  editorial  chair  of  ''The  Altruian"  and  this  made  a 
place  for  O.  C.  Springer  as  its  editor.     This  was  a  bid  for 


—82— 

war  against  the  dagoes,  as  all  opponents  were  called,  on 
the  ground  that  they  were  ready  to  open  the  battery  for 
mud  slinging.  But  for  some  better  council,  the  paper 
would  have  befouled  its  own  nest  and  made  a  stench  that 
would  not  down  by  the  wave  of  any  one's  hand.  The  col- 
ony would  have  been  the  sufferer  and  these  penniless 
adventurers  would  have  gained  a  little  public  notoriety  at 
the  cost  of  many. 

It  shows  the  danger  of  the  present  loose  ideas  of 
nearly  all  who  get  into  any  position,  and  should  be  stren- 
uously guarded  against  in  selecting  any  one  for  any  place 
of  trust.  Our  little  paper,  small  and  insignificant  as  it 
appears,  could  do  us  untold  harm,  in  the  hands  of  a  reck- 
less editor  or  a  board  that  was  in  sympathy  with  his 
sentiments. 

Our  sentiments,  through  its  columns,  should  be  truth- 
ful and  conservative  in  all  respects,  giving  no  offence  to 
those  who  do  not  fully  understand  our  object  and  might  be 
made  our  friends  when  they  more  certainly  understand  us. 
Vinegar  is  too  sour  to  catch  flys;  syrup  is  better.  We  want 
friends  and  plenty  of  them  and  let  us  pursue  a  generous 
course  to  get  them.  If  we  are  narrow  and  bigotted  we  repel 
the  very  element  that  we  should  invite  to  our  ranks  in  our 
call  for  the  altruistic  nobility  of  man. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

September  17th,  1897 
Peace  and  plenty  have  hovered  over  the  working 
camp,  going  well  into  five  months.  The  faction  led  by 
B.  L.  Smith,  has  wiggled  and  twisted  under  the  galling 
yoke,  which  forced  them  to  pull  their  share  of  the  load 
or  quit. 


—83— 

At  last  we  learn  with  pleasure  that  the  big  chief, 
with  two  of  his  clan,  purchased  eighty  acres  of  land  near 
the  town  of  Montrose,  and  will  leave  the  colony  in  the 
condition  of  a  motherless  colt,  which  has  not  learned  to 
live  on  grass.  Another  clique  of  this  swarm  has  settled 
below  Natarita,  on  some  bottom  land  to  which  they 
expect  to  lead  water  by  Spring.  Bramier  is  keeping  open 
house;  that  is,  the  cracks  are  open.  Springer  has  been 
discharged  from  all  work  for  his  ungentlemanly  conduct. 
Virtually  the  clan  that  was  so  tyranically  ruling  up  to 
May  1st,  has  fallen  to  pieces,  while  the  colony,  under  the 
new  board  elected  at  that  time,  has  paid  off  a  debt  of  five 
hundred  dollars,  and  has  paid  out  cash  for  supplies  and 
tools  to  the  amount  of  one  thousand  dollars  more,  and  has 
money  in  the  treasury  and  considerable  coming  to  them 
for  lumber  sold  and  will  soon  have  another  saw  mill,  a 
plainer  and  trimmer,  paid  for  in  lumber  said  to  be  worth 
two  thousand  dollars. 

Kew  members  have  filled  the  places  of  the  disaffected 
ones  and  we  are  rapidly  recruiting,  showing  plainly  that 
good  management  will  make  things  move  under  the  most 
difficult  circumstances.  Notwithstanding  B.  L.  Smith's 
great  pretended  fear,  that  if  the  management  was  changed, 
the  colony  would  go  to  ruin,  his  narrow  limitation  of 
numbers  to  accomplish  such  a  work  is  like  his  measure- 
ment of  capacity  in  men,  and  their  usefulness  to  the 
colony.  Since  he  sees  his  mistake  in  so  many  directions? 
he  cannot  stay  in  the  ranks  and  face  those  who  have  proven 
their  superiority  over  his  weakness. 

At  the  present  time  the  colony  outlook  was  never  so 
good.  The  distrust  of  the  people  who  have  been  employed 
by  others  is  growing  as  they  see  the  gravity  of  their  sit- 
uation, the  cutting  of  wages  and  raising  of  prices  on  the 


—84— 

necessities  of  life,  caused  by  the  tariff,  which  terrorizes 
the  man  with  dependents  on  him  for  the  bread  they  must 
have.  If  he  gets  on  land  that  will  produce,  he  lays  the 
foundation  for  a  future  home,  and  moderate  independence 
at  first  and  final  liberty  from  dependence  on  others  to 
supply  him  with  work.  The  isolated  farmer's  life  is  not 
very  inviting  to  our  social  nature,  but  even  that  can  be 
endured  easier  than  pinching  starvation,  which  is  inev- 
itable under  the  present  system. 

Co-operative  communities  have  no  necessity  for 
isolation  and  continued  drudgery  in  order  to  live.  The 
small  farms  with  intense  cultivation,  do  not  necessitate 
isolation  and  the  town  plan  does  away  with  it  entirely,  so 
far  as  the  family  may  decide  in  its  action  of  living  on 
the  farm  or  in  town.  Those  that  have  trades  and  prefer 
to  follow  them,  or  any  other  line  of  business  to  which 
they  are  best  adapted,  can  seek  colony  employment  in  the 
town  and  can  have  their  land  worked  by  those  that  prefer 
it  and  understand  farm  production.  The  line  of  distinc- 
tion between  occupations  is  not  drawn  in  co-operation- 
The  mutual  interest  felt  in  all  industries  binds  them  into 
one  sheaf  of  grain  that  feeds  them  all. 

This  is  as  it  should  be,  and  would  be  if  kings,  queens, 
emperors,  lords,  dukes  and  other  useless  trash  did  not 
start  this  fungus  growth  of  titled  aristocracy,  that  fools 
and  apes  imitate.  When  pampered  by  surplus  means, 
gained  from  the  suffering  producer,  they  must  go  abroad 
to  learn  more  of  this  monkey  business  where  they  are 
filched  by  every  tip-taker  and  laughed  at  for  their  credulity. 
They  come  home  puffed  up  like  a  toad  to  tell  of  a  foreign 
land  and  people,  when  they  could  not  tell  one  half  of 
their  own  state  history,  or  who  was  its  first  governor. 
But  they  have  been  abroad.     This  is  the  American  shoddy 


—85— 

that  comes  to  the  top  like  scum  in  the  boiling  cauldron. 
He  wants  all  the  world  to  know  that  he  has  money.  The 
press  wants  some  of  it  and  they  herald  his  name  and  tell 
his  history  as  they  should  that  of  some  great  benefactor 
that  had  done  the  world  some  good,  beyond  selfish  gain. 

As  a  colony  can  inculcate  a  higher  sentiment  and 
cultivate  a  common  sense  view  of  our  duty  to  each  other 
that  will  take  the  place  of  this  high-kiting  desire  and  put 
some  nobler  aspiration  on  top  as  a  premium,  let  us  try  it 
and  begin  with  the  children,  as  you  cannot  bend  an  old 
tree  without  danger  of  breaking  it.  It  will  not  yield  like 
the  young  sapling,  that  has  not  attained  the  dignity  of  a 
full  grown  tree,  which  has  stood  the  blasts  of  many  storms. 

The  young  plastic  mind  will  mold  into  thought  like 
potters  clay  in  the  hands  of  a  skilful  artist,  and  retain  his 
marks  or  impress  while  life  lasts.  We  must  have  many 
mind  moulders  with  us,  who  can  take  the  lead  in  touching 
up  and  bringing  out  all  the  finer  characteristics  of  our 
young  people,  from  the  five  year  old  tot  to  the  young  man 
or  woman,  who  will  form  our  governing  genius  in  the 
future.  Turn  the  mind  into  channels  not  lined  with  gold 
or  glittering  diamonds.  Show  them  Nature's  fields  with 
plant,  flower,  birds  and  insects  and  all  that  makes  up  this 
wonderful  daily  surrounding,  and  lead  them  on  to  the 
greater  works  that  astound  in  magnitude  the  untaught 
mind.  Wean  the  mind  from  tattle-tale  gossip  of  family 
affairs,  discourage  it  and  put  something  in  its  place,  that 
will  not  wound  the  feelings  of  any  one  or  cause  this  ever- 
lasting bickering  that  brings  nothing  but  sorrow  and  hate. 

We  all  have  our  faults  and  short-comings  and  our 
peculiar  ideas.  They  are  our  own,  they  come  with  us 
into  the  world.     Have  charity  for  those  that  were  born 


—86— 

with  disagreeable  faults  which  are  hard  to  overcome,  and 
are  so  interwoven  that  few  can  see  them  at  all. 

Deformity  of  the  mind  is  as  unfortunate  as  that  of 
the  body,  and  how  we  pity  the  poor  deformed  child  that 
must  creep  through  this  life  as  best  it  can,  while  the  fine 
physically  developed  child  with  deformed  rnind  must 
often  tight  harder  to  get  through  this  unsympathetic 
world.  We  only  look  for  the  material  things,  with 
thoughts  of  happiness.  All  else  is  blank  to  us,  yet  we  see 
all  that  is  material  undergoing  eternal  change.  There  is 
no  real  stability  in  its  oneness. 

Our  frail  bodies  are  filled  with  germs  of  death,  ready 
at  any  opportune  time  to  cut  asunder  the  slender  thread 
which  holds  the  spiritual  and  the  physical  together.  One 
withers  and  decays  into  a  repulsive  mass,  finally  returning 
to  its  former  elements;  the  other,  like  a  flash  of  elec. 
tricity,  is  gone  as  it  came.  80  much  for  our  fitful  existence 
here.  If  everlasting  life  follows,  and  we  believe  it  does, 
this  elementary  stage  should  be  as  near  i-ight  as  possible, 
not  because  of  the  fear  of  an  angry  God  or  a  burning  hell, 
but  for  harmony  here  or  a  better  start  in  a  higher  school 
of  unending  progression. 

We  are  links  in  the  endless  chain  of  humanity  which 
is  here  for  a  purpose,  whatever  that  purpose  may  be. 
We  are  helpless  to  change  it  if  we  would,  and  we  must 
comply  to  such  conditions  as  nature  has  provided,  and 
make  the  best  of  it,  as  we  cannot  get  rid  of  ourselves  by 
separating  ourselves  from  the  body.  So  we  should  care 
well  for  the  bodies  that  they  may  not  be  impaired  by 
abuse  or  neglect.  Health  is  more  valuable  than  gold  or 
precious  stones,  and  the  strife  for  either,  with  the  loss  of 
health,  is  a  great  mistake.     So  study  the  art  of  having 


—87  — 

good  health  first  and  let  minor  duties  of  life  come  after- 
ward. 

We  hope  to  have  able  lectures  on  the  care  of  health 
when  we  get  other  matters  well  under  way.  The  young 
do  not  understand  what  is  so  important  to  their  future 
well  being  and  very  few  parents  seem  to  be  capable  of 
doing  their  part  in  this  line.  Some  are  over  prudent  and 
make  a  hot  house  plant  of  a  child.  This  is  the  other  ex- 
treme, which  is  equally  as  injurious  as  too  little  caution. 
Sunlight  and  pure  air  give  life  and  health  to  all  living 
things  of  beauty  and  purity.  All  extremes  should  be 
avoided,  either  in  mind  or  body.     They  are  not  good. 

Edward  Bellamy  has  Just  arrived  in  Denver,  seeking 
health,  in  charge  of  his  brother,  who  states  that  he  is  i^ 
too  delicate  health  to  be  seen  by  his  many  friends  and 
admirers  at  this  time.  His  book,  "Looking  Backward," 
has  given  him  a  world  wide  reputation  as  a  Utopian 
thinker  for  the  betterment  of  man's  condition  under 
collective  efforts.  Written  in  novel  style,  it  was  read  by 
thousands  who  would  never  have  read  anything  touching 
on  socialism,  based  on  scientific  facts,  but  would  fear  con- 
tamination and  dream  of  red-handed  anarchy  by  day  and 
night. 

Bellamy  has,  no  doubt,  overworked  his  mind  and  ne- 
glected his  health  until  he  is  a  physical  wreck.  He  has 
thought  of  all  the  good  things  that  would  make  mankind 
happy  in  this  life,  with  robust  health,  and  has  forgotten 
himself  and  lost  his  own  in  a  race  for  fame.  His  pen 
pictures  of  what  can  be  done  are  very  happy  thoughts. 
When  he  reaches  out  into  the  visionary  realm  of  impossi- 
bilities, he  shows  plainly  that  he  has  not  looked  much  into 
*^he  practical  side,  or  tusseled  with  man's  selfish  nature, 


-88— 

which  is  a  constant    barrier    between    him   and   what  he 
might  do  for  himself. 

Should  Mr,  Bellamy  have  some  of  the  trials  of  the 
Colorado  Oo-operative  Colony  in  trying  to  carry  into 
effect  the  most  moderate  of  his  ideas,  he  would  realize 
what  a  herculean  task  it  would  be  to  mold  men  into  his 
thought,  enough  to    understand    the    first  principle  and 

that  is,  HARMONY    BETWEEN     THEMSELVES. 

The  colony  is  drawing  its  strength  from  the  middle 
class,  all  fairly  educated  and  intelligent  people,  people  of 
respectability  in  any  community,  really  the  .best  of  people, 
measured  by  any  moral  standard;  yet,  one  iinds  this 
narrow  selfishness  imbedded  so  firmly  in  many  of  them 
that  harmony  has  a  rough  road  to  travel. 

Theory  and  practice  are  yet  far  apart  among  men, 
and  our  old  system  must  undergo  a  change  of  heart,  such 
as  the  radical  religionist  would  have  us  believe  takes 
place,  or  something  akin  to  it.  To  "love  your  neighbor 
as  yourself"  is  so  rar  ea  thing,  if  it  ever  existed,  that  very 
few  cases  are  on  record  where  it  has  existed  during  the 
lifetime  of  any  two  individuals.  Difference  of  opinion 
will  come  up  and  the  varying  feeling  of  individuals,  like 
the  barometer,  are  affected  by  changes  which  make  them 
different  people  on  different  days  We  may  say  and  do 
things  to-day  that  we  regret  to-morrow,  and  so  on  all 
through  our  existence.  The  man  or  woman  that  is  the 
same  to-day,  to-morrow  and  all  days,  during  a  life  time  is 
a  marvel  not  known  to  man.  He  is  a  creature  of  nature 
with  all  the  marks  and  scars  of  untold  generations  hang- 
ing about  him.  Like  the  actor  on  the  stage,  one  may 
hold  out  at  the  best  for  a  short  period,  but  lower  th.e 
curtain,  the  strain  is  realized,  and  he  or  she  falls  limp  and 
lax  as  an  ordinary  being.     The  assumed  character  is  only 


—89— 

for  the  time  being.  The  trappings  are  cast  aside,  the 
gleaming  eye  is  dull  again  and  the  voice  is  husky  from 
overstrained  tones  that  are  not  natural  to  the  thorax 


CHAPTER  XIY. 

In  our  colony  work  we  have  had  some  strange  ex- 
periences and  strange  arguments  brought  up  as  to  why 
it  cannot  succeed  and  why  a  man's  strength  should  not  be 
rewarded  above  his  weaker  brother;  why  the  wise  pro- 
fessionals should  not  have  three  times  as  much  as  expert 
mechanics,  who  have  served  as  long  to  learn  their  trade. 
Others  want  to  know  how  we  are  going  to  exclude  specu- 
lators and  keep  people  from  selling  out  to  them,  with  the 
individual  ownership  of  land  so  that  they  will  finally  own 
a  controlling  interest  and  disrupt  the  whole  plan- 
Another  class  wants  to  know  how  we  will  keep  equality 
alive,  or  keep  one  class  from  getting  rich  while  others 
wiir  grow  poor,  how  we  will  keep  up  the  equilibrium 
between  classes. 

These  are  very  important  questions  to  solve  and  it  is 
impossile  to  answer  them  with  any  certainty  of  correctness. 
Mental  calculation  has  not  coined  the  plan  for  us  and  if 
time  and  experience  can  make  the  development  possible 
for  our  needs,  we  will  be  glad  to  accept  and  put  it  into 
use.  Man  is  such  a  refractory  animal  and  varies  so  much 
in  his  wants,  needs  and  ambitions,  that  a  general  rule  can- 
not be  applied  to  him  by  which  to  make  him  happy. 

If  he  finds  he  can  get  what  he  wants  with  little  cost 
he  becomes  extravagant  and  wasteful.  His  ideas  enlarge 
until  this  little  planet  is  hardly  large  enough  for  him. 
He  flaps  his  wings  like  a  Spring  butterfly,  tasting  the 
sweets  in  every  land,   buys   baubles  in  foreign  countries. 


—90— 

that  he  would  not  pick  up  in  his  own,  as  evidence  that  he 
has  traveled  abroad,  and,  that  he  may  be  known  for  his 
wisdom  as  well  as  his  money,  he  jumps  into  politics.  If 
he  proves  to  be  the  biggest  scoundrel  he  holds  his  own;  if 
not  he  is  peeled. 

This  particularly  applies  to  the  American  mushroom 
that  comes  up  in  the  night,  made  by  the  decay  of  honor? 
that  starts  a  fungus  growth  in  dirty  places.  If  he  is  weak 
and  wants  to  be  honest  and  still  be  a  politician  for  fame, 
he  is  very  liable  to  soon  iind  his  fame  and  fortune  have 
taken  wings  and  departed.  IS^ot  a  word  of  sympathy 
comes  from  the  filchers  who  make  fools  and  paupers  of 
willing  tools.  He  sinks  from  sight  to  struggle  for  exis- 
tence, as  H.  A.  W.  labor,  who  was  flattered  and  fawned 
over  while  his  money  lasted,  has  done. 

Tabor  was  painted  and  pasted  on  every  street  corner 
and  he  was  pointed  out  everywhere  as  the  famous  owner 
of  mines  at  Leadville,  the  Tabor  block  in  Denver,  Tabor 
opera  houses  in  Denver  and  Leadville  and  the  Tabor 
residence,  occupying  a  full  block  of  ground.  He  owned 
the  La  Yeta  terrace  of  fourteen  nine-room  houses.  His 
old-fashioned  first  wife  was  too  slow  for  his  now  brilliant 
career.  A  young  and  more  dashing  one  was  selected. 
The  old  one  must  be  gotten  rid  of  and  this  was  no  easy 
task,  as  she  had  been  a  faithful  wife  to  him  through  all 
his  trials  of  poverty,  as  a  prospector  who  had  seen  the 
limit  of  his  flour  sack  and  bacon  many  times  before  he 
struck  it  rich;  but  he  shook  her  and  married  his  new 
selection. 

Then,  for  glory,  he  must  run  for  the  United  States 
senate.  The  legislature  must  be  bought  to  put  him  there 
for  the  unexpired  term  of  thirty  days,  which  cost  him  one 
thousand  dollars  a  day  to  purchase.     This  would  appease 


—91  — 

the  vain  glory  of  the  man  and  his  desire  to  be  called  Sen- 
ator Tabor.  The  costly  night  gown  extravagance  is 
familiar  to  every  Coloradoan.  He  became  a  borrower  of 
money  under  this  strain  and  it  sounded  his  death  knelU  as 
the  richest  man  in  the  state.  His  mines  were  insufficient 
in  output  to  meet  this  heavy  drain  of  wild  extravagance. 
He  w^ent  down!  down!  dowm!  clinging  to  every  pro- 
jecting hope  of  mines  in  Mexico  to  save  the  fine  property 
that  was  mortgaged,  but  all  failed.  He  went  from  a  line 
four-horse  equipage  to  an  old  century  buggy  and  old  white 
horse,  not  well  groomed  or  fed,  behind  which  rode  Senator 
Tabor  with  few  to  see  or  speak  to  him  as  he  passed  down 
Sixteenth  street,  which  his  money  had  made  to  boom  as 
the  main  business  street  of  Denver,  which  it  will  be  for 
all  tlie  years  to  come. 

What  an  object  lesson  of  folly  to  our  young  people 
who  may  have  aspirations  to  become  rich  and  seek  glory. 
How  much  good  he  could  have  done  in  a  colony  like  ours, 
and  after  old  age  came  upon  him  he  could  have  felt  the 
grasp  of  friendship  in  every  hand  and  could  see  welcome 
in  every  eye  while  the  lamp  of  life  burned  for  him,  and 
when  he  was  gone  his  name  would  have  remained  glorious. 

The  Salvation  Army  Colony  will  succeed  with  less 
trouble  than  any  colony  in  the  country;  first,  because  they 
have  a  religious  belief:  second,  because  they  have  a  head 
manager  they  must  obey.  The  Press  will  encourage  the 
tnovement  and  make  it  pop'ular.  It  is  a  movement  for 
the  right  no  one  can  doubt,  it  matters  not  by  whom  it  is 
made  or  under  what  auspices,  to  relieve  the  poor  and  give 
them  a  chance  to  do  for  themselves.  This  piecemeal 
charity  is  only  spasmodic.  It  comes  under  strong  senti- 
ment and  dies  quickly  until  another  tidal  wave  of  extreme 


—92— 

distress  makes  another  appeal.     It  only  fills  a  temporary 
want  and  does  no  permanent  good. 

The  only  sensible  article  ever  pnt  in  print  by  Dean 
Hart  appears  in  the  ''Eocky  Mountain  News"  for  September 
30th,  1899,  making  an  appeal  to  the  business  men  of  Den- 
ver to  meet  at  the  Brown  Hotel  for  the  purpose  of  devising 
some  means  of  assistance  for  the  Booth  Tucker  Colony 
scheme  in  the  Arkansas  valley.  He  goes  on  to  say  that 
the  country  is  in  a  transition  state  of  the  machine  age? 
that  is  displacing  hand  labor  to  the  extent  that  people  are 
idle  and  on  the  verge  of  starvation  in  many  places,  and 
that  people  must  go  to  the  land 

The  Dean  has  blundered  on  the  truth  for  once,  in 
seeing  the  real  situation,  but  he  is  unconscious  that  he  is 
encouraging  socialism  in  advocating  the  cause  of  these 
people,  who  need  all  the  help  they  can  get,  from  whatever 
source  it  may  come. 

The  writer  wrote  to  B.  O.  Flower,  of  the  ''Arena,"  on 
the  subject  of  colonizing  the  poor  on  some  of  Uncle  Sam's 
domains  in  theAVest,  and  giving  them  a  chance  to  support 
themselves.  Our  proposed  plan  was  to  do  it  by  a  grad- 
uated tax  on  the  people,  commencing  with  those  that  had 
an  income  of  three  thousand  dollars  yearly  and  advance 
the  percentage  as  the  income  increased,  until  it  would 
shake  the  multi-millionaire  pretty  lively.  They,  being 
the  cause  of  this  extreme  poverty,  should  be  made  to 
return  some  of  it  to  support  their  victims.  But  Mr.  Flower 
wrote  me  it  would  be  impossible  to  do  anything  in  the 
halls  of  Congress  under  the  present  high  pressure  of 
affairs.     He  said  our  plan  was  in  the  right  direction. 

I  had  been  reading  his  investigations  of  the  extreme 
poor  in  Boston,  Philadelphia  and  New  York,  published  in 
the  "Arena  "     He  had  visited  these  hovels  and  sweat  holes 


—93— 

in  person,  seen  with  his  own  eyes,  and  heard  the  sad  story 
of  these  poor  creatures  who  are  dragging  out  a  miserable 
existence  between  life  and  death.  This,  too  in  these  proud 
cities  where  the  rich  pamper  and  pet  some  poodle  dog  as 
the  idol  of  their  love,  and  make  plans  how  to  spend  their 
idle  time  at  some  watering  place  or  attend  some  swell  re- 
ception, which  is  as  hollow  of  any  good  sense  or  feeling  as 
their  heads  and  hearts.  If  the  compensating  law  of  equal 
justice  in  creation  is  not  possible  here  it  is  hoped  that  the 
future  will  give  it  force. 

The  high  spired  churches  which  bandy  the  name  of 
Christ  as  their  make-shift  symbol  of  religion  are  as 
far  from  what  he  taught  as  the  two  poles  of  the 
Earth.  He  lived  and  mingled  with  the  poor  from 
birth.  He  had  no  good  word  for  the  money  lender  or 
rich  man,  unless  he  came  as  other  people,  not  presuming 
on  his  wealth.  This  He  plainly  emphasized  on  many 
occasions.  If  He  came  to  earth  in  disguise  He  would  not 
be  admitted  to  a  pew  in  a  fashionable  church  that  pays  its 
minister  from  five  to  twenty-iive  thousand  dollars. 

Talmage  would  climb  up  in  the  belfry  to  escape  see- 
ing such  a  lowly  man  as  Christ  was  represented  to  be 
while  He  was  on  earth.  His  agility  as  a  monkey  climber 
would  equal  his  monkey  squeal  in  the  pulpit,  and  he 
would  cry  pitifully  to  have  the  horrible  being  removed 
from  his  presence.  Man,  without  a  soul  or  brain  or  either 
is  a  pitiful  sight  to  behold,  yet  thousands  fawn  over  this 
poor,  miserable  make-shift  of  a  man  and  pay  him  thou- 
sands in  money  to  hear  his  silly  chatter,  but  monkeys 
like  to  hear  monkeys  and  they  may  understand  what  the 
man  monkey  means  when  others  cannot.  He  has  so  many 
opposites  in   his  make-up  that  you  never  know  where  to 


—94— 

find  him.     He  builds  up  to-day  and  tears  down  to-morrow, 
a  perfect  Don  Quixote. 

CHAPTER  XY. 

THE  NEW  ERA  CITY. 

Mr.  C.  Caryl,  a  well  meaning  man,  full  of  generous 
impulses,  has  launched  out  in  handbills  announcing  his 
book  which  will  soon  be  ready  for  distribution,  setting 
forth  his  plans  for  an  ideal  building,  and  under  its  roof 
great  wonders  and  charming  results  are  to  be  worked  out. 
This  building,  as  we  understand,  is  the  central  feature  or 
foundation  of  the  New  Era  that  is  to  follow.  We  cannot 
tell  until  the  book  is  out,  but  will  then  be  able  to  judge 
of  his  plans. 

Mr.  Caryl  is  full  of  energy  and  good  intent,  but  we 
fear  he  gets  overwrought  in  cloud  walking  theory  that 
will  fall  flat  when  he  attempts  to  put  it  into  practice- 
With  the  present  sellish  nature,  he  will  find  men  mean 
enough  to  steal  the  foundation  stones  of  the  building  he 
would  provide  foi*  their  good  and  protection,  and  turn 
him  down  if  he  makes  any  objection.  His  past  experience 
with  the  New  Mexican  Colony  does  not  seem  to  have  a 
lasting  effect  upon  his  actions.  He  tells  of  the  indiffer- 
ence he  met  in  these  people  who  were  gathered  there  to 
teach  a  higher  law  to  tlie  young  that  they  had  in  chai-ge,  in 
houses  built  and  places  made  ready  for  them  by  some 
philanthropist,  even  gardens  planted  which  they  were  too 
indolent  to  tend  for  their  own  use.  Yet  any  one  of  these 
people,  who  never  earned  a  pair  of  pants  in  his  life,  could 
talk  by  the  hour  or  day  on  his  pet  theory,  taken  from  some 
mystical  writer. 

The  first  thing  to  teach  people  is  industry  and  self- 


—95- 

support  and  that  nothing  good  can  come  to  them  without 
self-exertion.  They  will  lapse  back  into  degeneracy  and 
become  as  trifling  as  the  Red  Man  or  African  in  his  native 
country.  Mr.  Caryl  w411  be  wasting  his  well  intended 
labor  if  he  calls  to  his  aid  hair  brained  sky  scrapers  that 
are  too  good  to  live  on  earth  and  not  lit  to  die.  God  don't 
want  them  and  the  Devil  would  not  have  them.  They 
should  be  reincarnated  about  one  hundred  times  and  then 
would  not  have  any  too  much  sense  to  last  them  through 
one  human  life. 

Then,  Mr.  Caryl  will  find  the  industrious  blind  pig, 
that  will  pile  up  in  his  corner  more  corn  than  he  can  eat 
while  some  one  else  may  starve  for  all  he  cares.  He  is 
right  up  on  co-operation  if  it  comes  his  way,  but,  pull  up 
on  him  and  you  have  an  enemy  that  is  as  treacherous  as  a 
Spaniard  and  he  thinks  you  are  the  meanest  man  on  earth 
if  you  keep  him  from  taking  that  which  does  not  belong 
to  him. 

Then,  there  is  the  indifferent  co-operator  who  will 
come  in  and  do  what  you  tell  him  and  do  it  well,  just  as 
if  he  were  hired  by  some  corporation,  but  he  would  not 
turn  on  his  heel  to  save  the  colony  money  or  trouble  as 
long  as  he  was  not  hired  to  do  that  business.  If  the  col- 
ony  succeeded,  well  and  good,  he  would  take  his  share  of 
it,  but  you  could  not  get  him  to  see  that  it  was  his  duty  to 
push  or  pull  for  the  colony  whenever  an  opportunity  was 
open,  like  a  cog  in  a  wheel,  equalizing  the  strain,  neces- 
sary to  move  the  whole  machinery  with  ease  and  harmony. 
He  takes  a  passive  part  in  making  himself  free  and 
independent  and  you  cannot  inspire  him  to  any  higher 
motives  than  the  ox  in  the  yoke. 

Just  the  opposite  to  this    picture  is  the  impatient, 


—96— 

driving,  fretting  co-operator  who  cannot  wait.  He  wants 
to  accomplish  in  a  day  that  which  would  take  a  month, 
and  if  it  is  up  hill  and  slow  he  gets  discouraged  and  dis- 
courages all  who  are  of  his  way  of  feeling  when  anything 
hard  must  be  done. 

The  steady  puller  who  has  some  judgment,  and  can 
see  what  is  to  be  obtained  by  patience  and  perseverance, 
is  the  hoop  that  holds  the  cask  together.  He  never  gets 
rattled  in  the  time  of  emergency  and  falls  all  to  pieces  or 
drops  into  a  useless  grease  spot.  Such  pat  in  double 
energy  when  it  is  needed,  and  such  make  the  base  and 
dome  of  the  superstructure  while  the  others  fill  in  the  wall 
material  and  are  cemented  together.  All  are  necessary  ad_ 
juncts  to  the  building,  but  do  not  stand  the  pressure  neces- 
sary to  the  keystone  in  the  arch. 


Since  writing  the  above  1  have  read  Mr.  Qaryl's  New 
Era  paper  on  Union,  giving  his  plan  of  procedure.  He 
starts  out  by  saying  that  plenty  of  idle  money  can  be  had 
at  three  per  cent,  and  the  plan  is  to  borrow  money  for  the 
project.  He  purposes  to  charge  membevs  six  per  cent,  on 
mortgaged  bonds  to  run  twenty-iive  years,  to  be  secured 
by  capital  stock. 

The  New  Era,  in  addition  to  this,  will  issue  first 
mortgao"e  bonds,  secured  by  a  lien  on  all  the  assets,  payable 
in  gold  in  twenty-five  years  at  six  per  cent.  He  then 
proposes  a  system  of  degrees  of  labor  and  wages;  first  de- 
gree, the  common  laborer,  gets  two  dollars  per  day  for 
eight  hours  work.  This  is  very  liberal  in  Mr.  Caryl,  but 
his  liberality  does  not  tend  to  equality  or  the  elevation  of 
this  useful  class  that  does  the  hardest  work.  His  fourth 
degree,  gives  expert  labor  teachers,  professional,  six  dol- 


—97— 

lars  for  the  saptie  number  of  hours  His  fifth  degree, 
specially  valuable  services,  such  as  superintendents,  ten 
dollars  for  eight  hours  work.  The  seventh  and  last  degree 
executive  officers,  twenty-five  dollars  per  day  for  eight 
hours;  creating  or  continuing  the  same  old  system  of 
classes  that  builds  up  aristocracy  and  rotten  ideas  of  su- 
periority of  one  above  another. 

Is  it  my  fault  that  I  do  not  have  the  ability  of  my 
brother  to  grasp  certain  ideas?  Is  it  my  fault  that  I  am 
not  educated  for  the  lack  of  opportunity,  if  my  parents 
were  poor  and  could  not  send  me  to  college?  Is  it  my 
fault  if  I  was  born  in  the  slums  of  some  great  city,  and 
was  helpless  to  lift  myself  out  of  it,  when  I  had  the  natural 
ability  to  be  an  expert  in  arts  and  sciences?  I  must  be  a 
hewer  of  wood,  a  drawer  of  water,  and  work  for  low  wages, 
because  I  have  no  opportunity  to  rise  above  my  born 
condition. 

Wliat  is  called  a  hit  in  life  may  change  its  entire 
course  and  place  people  of  moderate  ability  in  a  position 
to  ride  on  tlie  highest  wave  of  renown,  that  will  carry 
their  names  into  history.  Others,  with  greater  ability, 
not  striking  the  popular  chord  by  accident  or  otherwise, 
may  never  be  known  beyond  a  small  circle  of  friends. 
It  is  oftener  the  chance  in  life  that  leads  to  a  high  posi- 
tion than  natural  ability.  Influence  may  place  a  very  dull 
person  in  the  line  of  promotion  and,  being  stimulated  by 
surroundings,  he  will  grow  into  kb'Owledge,  far  in  excess 
of  his  highest  anticipations.  This  makes  his  services 
come  so  high  in  Mr.  (JaryPs  estimation. 

Utopia  is  a  long  way  oflF  from  the  poor  devil  in  Mr. 
Caryl's  plan  of  classes  or  degrees  as  he  calls  them.  Meas- 
ured by  the  difference  between  two  dollars  a  day  and 
twenty-iive  dollars  a  day,  one   must  eat  coarse  food  and 


—98— 

wear  coarse  and  cheap  apparel;  the  other  can  be  a  connois- 
seur and  have  the  best  of  both.  One  can  continue  his 
progeny  in  his  footsteps  of  luxury  and  position,  through 
education  and  influence,  while  the  other  must  light  a  hard 
battle  to  rise  above  his  poor  condition. 

Is  it  the  intention  of  creation,  or  is  it  fatality  that 
one  must  tight  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave?  If  so,  we 
pity  those  born  under  the  unlucky  star.  We  can  see 
plainly  the  intention  of  some  thinge  in  nature,  but  we 
cannot  see  why  the  highest  intelligence  of  all  creation 
should  be  centered  in  man,  and  he  be  made  so  keen  to  his 
suffering  and  yet  not  be  able  to  avert  it  by  all  his  efforts 
against  a  condition  he  finds  at  his  birth. 

If  this  is  the  work  of  an  all  wise  providence,  wisdom 
looks  one-sided  to  our  vision  and  we  fail  to  see  much  kind- 
ness in  it,  acknowledging  our  ignorance  of  all  things  from 
the  great  aggregation  of  wonders  that  come  under  our  view 
and  myriads  that  we  cannot  see  even  on  this  earth.  We 
are  lost  in  wondering  how  it  all  came  about  and  we  a  part 
of  it. 

With  the  blind  leading  the  blind,  every  scheme  any 
visionary  may  project  will  find  some  one  to  beat  the  drum 
for  recruits,  and  they  will  fall  into  ranks  and  follow  the 
most  shallow  plan  for  the  redemption  of  mankind,  never 
looking  to  see  what  its  followers  teach,  but  shout  and  sing 
until  the  hair-brained  fool  that  organized  it,  really  thinks 
he  is  a  savior,  sent  by  some  power  to  do  the  work,  and  he 
reaches  out  into  such  absurdities  and  violates  all  law  and 
common  decency  until  he  is  stopped  by  an  indignant  com- 
munity or  the  heavy  hand  of  some  official.  They,  then 
take  a  more  moderate  position  and  continue  to  hold  to- 
gether as  the   Mormons  and  many  other  sects  have  done. 

Persecution  always  unites  these  followers  closer  to- 


-99— 

gether.  Tracing  back  the  history  of  all  religions  sects 
we  find  the  fonndation  of  the  most  flimsy  material,  when 
we  get  down  to  the  bedrock  of  its  first  cause.  The  great 
ambition  of  man  to  have  other  men  follow  him  in  some 
way,  prevails  as  a  rule  among  men  who  do  not  like  to 
labor.  They  think  the  world  owes  them  a  living  and  that 
they  are  born  to  lead  and  teach  others  having  less  brains, 
and  they  find  them  as  the  magnet  attracts  steel. 

Colonies  are  afflicted  with  cloud  walkers.  They  feed 
upon  imagination  until  the  earth  sinks  away  from  them 
as  one  feels  when  ascending  in  a  balloon.  They  are 
inflated  with  gas  and  sail  off  in  open  space  until  the  gas 
is  all  burned  or  freed,  and  then  they  fall  back  to  earth 
with  a  thud  and  come  to  the  realizing  sense  that  they  are 
human.  Their  plans  were  not  founded  on  practical  com- 
mon sense.  Hence  this  shyness  about  all  colony  plans, 
being  uncertain  of  success.  If  you  point  out  to  them  the 
balloon  banks,  railroads,  factories,  merchants,  oil  wells, 
mines,  ship  lines  and  canals,  a  succession  of  failures,  they 
say:  "Oh  well,  that  is  a  matter  of  course,  there  must  be 
failures." 

Then  you  tell  them  of  colony  effort  that  has  been 
crowned  with  success  and  really  they  never  heard  of  it  and 
seem  to  think  you  are  stuffing  them  with  chaff,  for  the 
purpose  of  leading  them  into  some  swindle,  but  let  some 
shyster  open  a  bank  with  a  few  rich  men's  names  as  its 
directors,  it  matters  not  how  they  got  rich,  these  doubtful 
Thomases  will  flock  to  it,  put  their  whole  life  gatherings 
on  deposit  for  the  bait  of  high  interest  and  have  no  secur- 
ity whatever  for  all  they  have  in  the  world.  The  bank  is 
like  the  sweet  put  on  fly  paper  for  the  fly.  He  sips  certain 
death  and  falls,  as  do  his  fellows,  none  taking  heed  of  the 
deceitful  sign  that  lures  them  on  to  certain  ruin. 


—100— 

You  hardly  meet  one  man  out  of  ten  in  Denver  that 
ever  had  anything,  but  what  will  tell  you  that  he  lost  all 
the  cash  he  had  in  the  German  National,  Union  National. 
iVraerican  National,  or  some  of  the  dozen  savings  banks 
that  closed  four  years  ago,  all  with  abundance  of  assets 
above  their  liabilities,  which  are  always  given  out  by  the 
officials.  But  the  poor,  foolish  depositor  sees  but  little  of 
his  all  that  is  gone.  If  begets  ten  percent,  he  may.  thank 
his  stars.  A  costly  receiver  is  appointed.  If  he  is  honest 
his  salary  will  eat  up  a  large  portion  of  the  doubtful  assets, 
in  his  long  drawn  out  time,  to  settle  up  the  affairs  of  a 
wreck  of  bad  loans,  made  on  poor  security.  Of  late  it  is 
cotnmon  usage  to  loan  money  to  the  officials,  or  rather  loan 
it  to  themselves,  on  some  moonshine  security. 

A  notable  case  of  kiting  checks  in  a  well  known 
savings  bank  that  collapsed,  made  food  for  the  secular 
press.  O.  E.  Miller,  a  dandy  patent  truss  man,  that  wore 
corsets,  painted  his  cheeks  and  taught  Sunday  School, 
kited  the  life  out  of  this  bank.  He  and  the  president  and 
cashier  went  to  the  penitentiary  for  a  brief  term,  but,  be- 
ing true  blooded  bankers,  will  have  a  new  trial  and  get  off 
free,  as  Judge  Hallett  did  not  allow  them  to  do. 

Decision  has  been  reversed  by  some  higher  court  and 
they  will  soon  be  ready  for  a  new  lot  of  victims  in  some 
other  section  of  our  large  country.  With  solemn  dignity, 
from  the  janitor  to  the  president,  all  these  employers  ap- 
pear, so  that  the  common  depositor  feels  impressed  with 
superior  presence,  when  he  shoves  his  little  wad  into  the 
window  for  deposit.  With  a  feeling  of  safety  he  walks 
away,  to  find  next  morning  a  sign  on  the  door:  ^'Closed, 
in  the  hands  of  the  bank  commissioner."  A  cold  chill 
runs  up  and  down  his  spinal  column.  He  seeks  his  little 
home  to  tell  his  wife  he  is  a  ruined  man. 


—101— 
CHAPTER  XYI. 

The  fourth  annual  election  of  the  Colorado  Co-oper- 
ative Colony  board  took  place  at  Finon  Camp,  January  Ist) 
1898,  and,  as  usual,  the  contest  was  close,  and  the  result 
was  satisfactory  to  the  bone  and  sinew  of  the  colony. 
C.  E.  Brooks,  M.  D.  Bowen,  C.  H.  Robinson,  J.  M.  Snook, 
J.  Milligan,  W.  F.  Leibenburg,  J.  H.  Bramier,  J.  M.  Sage, 
and  Mr.  Franklin  were  elected.  Mr.  (J.  H.  Robinson  was 
elected  chairman,  J.  M.  Snook,  secretary,  Mrs.  J.  W. 
Barnes,  treasurer,  and  F.  C.  Gibbs,  general  manager. 

At  this  election  the  cumulative  vote  was  used 
throughout,  so  no  promise  not  to  use  it  should  be  violated 
as  at  the  annual  election  one  year  ago. 

At  this  election  there  were  three  factions,  the  straight 
colony  interest  men,  led  by  Brooks  and  Bowen,  the  sore 
backs,  led  by  B.  L.  Smith  and  J.  H.  Bramier,  the  sore- 
heads, who  had  no  leader  but  wanted  to  down  Brooks  and 
Bowen,  and  voted  with  the  opposition,  but  got  defeated  in 
their  design.  These  last  named  fault  tinders  of  the  man- 
agement were  held  in  contempt  by  B.  L.  Smith  one  year 
ago,  and  they  complained  bitterly  that  his  oppressions 
against  them  were  dishonest  and  all  that  was  contemptible. 
Now  they  are  licking  his  hand  as  their  valiant  leader. 

Those  reading  this  little  history  will  wonder  why  this 
entire  summersault  in  feeling  should  exist,  so  opposite  to 
former  alliance.  The  writer  will  state  in  full  confidence 
of  facts  before  him,  that  it  is  the  inate  selfishness  in  man- 
kind that  causes  them  to  lean  on  the  side  that  promises 
them  the  greatest  amount  of  privileges,  that  will  satisfy 
their  desires.  The  principle  involved  in  it  cuts  no  figure. 
Anyone  who  has  come  in  contact  with  those  who  feel  the 
freedom  granted  them  in  a  co-operative  work,  can  see 
plainly  that  few  understand   what  co-operation  means,  in 


—102— 

its  true  sense.  Any  law  that  pinches  them  is  unjust,  or 
any  official  that  does  not  set  law  or  custom  aside  for  them 
is  a  tyrant  and  does  not  understand  his  business. 

It  is  strange  how  unfair  and  bias  the  leanings  will 
get  when  self  is  the  Alpha  and  Omega.  Each  one  of  these 
little  units  that  form  the  human  family,  should  have  a 
little  globe  born  into  existence  with  him,  so  he  might  float 
in  space  unmolested  during  his  human  life  and  have  things 
his  own  way.  How  unjust  the  creation  is  in  all  its  arrange- 
ments for  the  crawling  worm,  who  should  fly  before  its 
eyes  are  open  and  know  nothing  but  pleasure  and  its  own 
sweet  will. 

The  oppressed  becomes  the  oppressor,  when  you  open 
the  door  for  the  exhibit  of  the  smoldering  Are  within^ 
ready  to  burst  forth.  All  the  inner  cussedness  comes  to 
the  surface.  The  meek  citizen  of  competition  becomes  a 
roaring  lion  when  he  flnds  he  is  free  in  co-operation.  He 
dares  give  his  opinion   without  fear  of  losing  his  bread- 

This  class  is  more  to  be  dreaded  in  the  progress  of  co- 
operation than  any  sensible  capitalist.  They  plant  more 
seeds  of  dissention  in  colonies,  with  their  everlasting  fault 
finding  with  their  superiors,  than  four  good  men  can  keep 
from  growing  Like  the  senseless  goose  or  poison  snake, 
they  hiss  at  all  things,  in  and  out  of  time,  heedless  of  con- 
sequences to  themselves  or  others.  No  argument  can 
reach  the  brain  of  this  new  made  man.  He  is  like  a  mad 
bull  in  a  china  shop,  full  of  distruction.  If  he  flnds  he 
cannot  win  his  way  by  bluster  and  destruction,  he  will 
turn  skunk  and  get  under  your  house  and  emit  a  smell 
that  he  hopes  will  drive  you  out  of  his  way,  but  he  oftener 
dies  from  his  own  odor.  That  is,  he  kills  himself  in  order 
to  destroy  others  in  prosperity.  He  would  rather  be  a 
mendicant  and  tool  for  others  than  to  work  with  people  of 


—  103- 

his  own  class  in  co-operation,  which  would  make  him,  with 
others,  independent. 

At  this  writing  some  twelve  or  more  members  have 
quit  work  for  the  colony  and  settled  on  small  patches  of 
land  near  the  river  bottom  and  are  building  a  ditch  to 
water  this  land.  It  is  rumored  that  they  have  already  got 
into  a  row  and  may  have  a  lawsuit.  They  still  hold  their 
membership  in  the  colony  and  are  on  hand  to  vote  on 
every  occasion  to  direct  its  affairs,  and  just  as  ready  to 
waylay  any  investigator,  who  might  become  a  member, 
and  have  drawn  out  temporarily,  on  account  of  bad  man- 
agement. 

At  the  same  time  nearly  all  of  them  are  trying  to 
embarass  the  colony  in  every  conceivable  way,  working  all 
manner  of  schemes  to  pull  out  supplies.  When  they  fail 
in  this  they  threaten  suit  for  funded  water  credits.  Vio- 
lating the  agreement  to  help  build  a  ditch,  they  want  the 
faithful  ones  to  pay  them  for  their  work,  as  they  would  a 
speculative  corporation.  If  they  were  not  void  of  manly 
principle,  they  would  see  their  own  interest  and  let  the 
colony  prosper  and  grow,  so  it  could  pay  them  for  every 
hour  they  ever  put  in  on  its  work,  and  in  time  it  would 
gladly  pay  any  one  who  is  not  satislied.  Malcontents  are 
not  desirable  to  any  colony  but  should  live  under  the  old 
system  of  ''dog  eat  dog,"  live  if  you  can  and  die  if  you 
must. 

The  battle  is  on  between  capital  and  labor  and  has 
been  for  thirty  years.  Labor,  in  that  time,  has  seen  its 
strongest  forts  fall,  now  and  then  gaining  a  small  local 
victory,  but  continually  losing  its  vantage  ground,  until 
the  iron  heel  of  capital  is  now  its  master  and  dictator,  yet 
poor,  blind  labor,  cannoc  see  its  helpless  situation,  or  see 
any  remedy  if  it  does  see  the  real  situation. 


—  104— 

That  self-arrogance,  in  rags,  with  an  empty  stomacht 
who  dreams  of  accidental  fortunes  coming  to  him,  is  a  ty- 
rant if  he  has  a  chance  to  be.  The  fellows  who  think  the 
world  owes  them  a  living,  and  they  are  going  to  have  it, 
are  tilling  our  jails  and  penitentiaries  so  rapidly  that  all 
state  authorities  are  at  their  trumps  to  know  how  to  main- 
tain them.  Taxes  are  eating  up  those  that  will  w^ork,  and 
have  something  that  can  be  taxed.  Labor  organizations 
cry  against  penal  labor  productions,  until  each  state  will 
be  forced  to  try  some  new  method  for  its  convicts.  Each 
state  or  city  institution  is  run  by  political  vampires  that 
are  likewise  eating  idle  bread,  and  are  as  vicious  as  the 
criminal  they  are  guarding.  These  are  living  facts,  that 
no  man  can  deny. 

The  war  with  Spain  may  give  a  temporary  relief  to 
the  overflow  of  labor,  as  it  will  take  two  hundred  thousand 
of  our  young  men  into  the  army,  and  as  many  more  to 
manufacture  the  needed  equipment  and  till  places  neces- 
sary for  a  war  standard,  while  the  speculator  and  corpora- 
tions reap  the  harvest  at  home  in  safety  from  sickness  or 
bullet.  The  bond  dealer  is  full  of  smiles  at  his  bright 
prospect  of  safe  investment,  of  non-taxable  bonds,  backed 
by  a  nation  of  seventy-tive  million  people,  who  must  pay 
tribute  in  some  form  of  taxation  to  meet  this  liability  that 
will  hang  pall-like  over  them. 

For  several  generations  to  come  nothing  but  death 
can  relieve  the  producer  from  the  power  of  the  bond  holder. 
Freedom's  wings  are  pinioned  by  dollars  and  cents.  The 
ballot  is  a  dead  letter  in  the  hands  of  the  people  and  is  no 
longer  a  bulwark  against  fraud  and  rascality  in  ofiice. 
Justice  is  an  idle  dream  of  the  past  and  the  sign  of  the 
scales  is  a  misnomer.  The  judiciary  has  lost  cast  and 
confidence.      Any  indifferent  attorney  can   become  a  dis- 


—105- 

trict  jndge.  It  is  understood  that  he  is  after  the  loaves 
and  fishes,  and  no  poor  man  can  expect  justice  in  contact 
with  capital,  no  matter  how  strong  his  case  may  be. 
Court  expenses  and  long  delay  makes  him  an  unequal 
contestant  in  modern  courts. 

What  is  left  for  the  poor  man  to  hope  for,  if  not  co- 
operation, with  his  own  class;  this  being  his  only  chance 
to  escape  from  dependence  and  want  in  old  age.  Why  is 
he  so  easily  turned  into  a  demon  against  his  only  friend, 
who  says:  "Try  me  faithfully  and  I  will  lead  you  to 
prosperity?"  The  brotherhood  of  man  cannot  all  be  a 
hollow  sound,  or  the  world  is  deceitful  from  the  beginning^ 
and  the  survival  of  the  fittest  is  true  in  all  nature. 

At  this  writing,  May  30th,  1898,  the  Colorado  Col- 
ony is  in  the  most  prosperous  condition  since  formed, 
more  people  on  the  work,  more  paying  members,  less  debt, 
a  larger  amount  of  work  done  in  the  year,  better  credit 
and  better  known  as  one  of  the  leading  colonies  of  the 
Union. 

The  time  of  the  annual  meeting  is  changed  to  July 
8th,  for  a  better  season  of  the  year  to  bring  people  together, 
good  roads  and  green  verdure  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach, 
save  the  snow  capped  mountains  far  above  timber  line,  on 
the  Continental  Divide. 

The  colony  is  planning  an  excursion  at  that  time,  so 
that  all  members  from  a  distance  may  visit  the  ground 
with  their  friends,  as  investigators,  or  to  learn  by  personal 
observation,  what  has  been  done  with  their  money.  We 
are  hopeful  of  a  good  crowd  and  some  converts  for  home 
makers.  We  wish  to  make  a  permanent  location  for  the 
future  colony  town,  which  may  be  known  in  history  as 
Engleside,  Home  Industry,  or  Smithville,  Snook's  Hole, 


—106— 

Brookside,  Hardscrabble,  Kickersville,  Bowensgrit,  Scrap- 
pinville,  Last  Chance,  Skunk's  Resort,  Wisdom,  Egotist, 
Never-die,  or  the  Old  Cat.  Who  knows  what  it  will  be  as 
it  is  all  embriotic  in  our  minds  now.  8ome  of  these  names 
might  lit  some  conditions,  ironically. 

Whatever  name  the  colony  town  may  get  is  of  no 
very  great  importance,  but  the  town  will  be  for  many  rea- 
sons, very  important,  and  a  good  selection  of  a  suitable 
locality  will  have  much  bearing  on  its  life  and  usefulness 
as  a  colony.  Health  is  the  first  consideration,  good  drain- 
age and  other  sanitary  conditions;  next,  a  central  and 
sightly  location,  with  no  ravines  and  streams  running 
through  it,  which  so  many  towns  seem  to  be  cursed  with, 
causing  trouble  with  storms,  with  overflow,  and  they  are 
unsightly  at  best  and  of  no  advantage  whatever. 

The  suggested  plan  formulated  by  the  Denver  Club, 
with  C.  E.  Smith  as  chairman,  plans  for  good  wide  streets? 
alleys  uniform,  and  no  jogs  or  seven  point  places  running 
to  all  points  of  the  compass    and   no  place  in  particular. 

Denver  is  a  handsomely  built  city,  starting  as  a  vil- 
lage of  the  plains,  with  no  certainty  for  the  future.  Its 
founders  settled  on  the  banks  of  Cherry  Creek  and  Platte 
River  and  laid  out  the  town  to  conform  to  the  general 
course  of  these  streams.  North-west  and  South-east,  South- 
west and  North-east.  The  adjoining  additions  being 
East  and  West  and  North  and  South,  make  a  fine  jumble 
of  confusing  streets  all  around  the  old  town. 

The  town  will  settle  all  colony  interests  and  have 
seven-eights  of  the  people  settle  there  as  their  home  place- 
All  things  possible  should  be  done  to  make  it  attractive 
and  homelike  and  not  have  it  scattered  over  ten  times  as 
much  space  as  is  needed.  We  should  commence  and  fill 
one  block  at  a  time,  from   the  center,  build  houses  on  a 


—107  — 

line,  with  some  uniformity  in  size  and  style,  at  least  in 
each  block,  if  not  all  over  the  town.  Much  can  be  done 
for  mutual  comfort  in  a  colony  town,  that  could  not  be 
regulated  or  applied  under  the  competitive  custom  of  every 
fellow  for  himself,  and  coupled  with  political  wire  pulling 
in  management  of  affairs,  by  office  seekers.  Few  things 
are  done  as  they  should  be,  for  the  public  good. 

We  hope  no  jobbery  will  ever  creep  into  our  town  or 
colony  affairs,  such  as  is  so  common  with  the  people  now 
that  no  one  can  tell  whether  it  is  policy  to  own  a  house  or 
not.  This  is  not  as  it  should  be,  and  no  remedy  seems  to 
present  itself  to  the  masses,  who  are  groaning  under  the 
burden  of  taxation.  The  money  god  is  supreme;  bribery 
is  bold  and  unlimited,  public  opinion  is  dulled  by  common 
practice  and  free  usage  of  fraud. 

We  hope  to  see,  in  our  declining  years,  one  well  reg- 
ulated town  where  peace  and  quietude  can  be  guaranteed 
every  citizen,  free  from  the  ills  that  make  life  a  burden  in 
a  thousand  ways.  The  endurance  of  them  makes  ill  nat- 
ured  people  and  affects  the  children  born  into  such 
conditions.  Baudyism  is  hardly  tolerated  among  savages 
but  is    often  found  in   the  towns  and  cities  of  America. 

Nothing  is  sacred  from  vandalism,  not  even  a  grave- 
yard. Defaced  monuments  and  over  turned  head  stones 
are  no  uncommon  sight  even  under  eternal  vigilance. 
Some  graveyards  have  gone  into  corporation  hands,  which 
can  charge  for  the  care  of  the  dead. 

About  nine  people  out  of  ten  will  allow  their  children 
the  free  run  of  anyone's  house  or  yard,  to  do  destruction  in 
their  absence.  About  the  same  number  of  grown  men  would 
rather  turn  a  horse  or  cow  loose  to  destroy  a  lawn  or  trees, 
than  to  save  the  sorrow  it  would  give  the  owner. 


—  108— 

All  this  is  on  the  ground  of  selfishness,  and  is  not 
punishable  under  law  or  custom  of  our  land,  or  the  pun- 
ishment comes  so  high  that  they  feel  safe.  One  may  keep 
a  barking,  biting  dog  that  may  keep  another  awake  all 
night,  or  a  stinking  cow  yard  under  his  nose,  or  a  squall- 
ing parrot  on  his  porch.  He  stands  on  his  rights  to  have 
any  or  all  of  these  things  on  his  own  premises,  and  if  one 
makes  a  mild  complaint  he  makes  an  enemy. 

There  is  no  necessity  of  this  if  a  town  is  headed  by 
provisions  in  its  charter,  and  controlled  by  men  who  are 
not  place  hunters  or  time  servers  for  office  emoluments. 
Colony  towns  certainly  have  some  advantage  over  towns 
that  are  filled  promiscuously  by  all  sorts  of  humanity, 
which  desire  to  enter  its  gates,  without  any  restriction, 
and  no  man  can  dispute  their  right  to  a  home  if  they  are 
not  criminals  from  justice.  They  are  as  free  as  the  air 
they  breathe. 

The  veriest  scoundrel  can  assume  the  garb  and  polish 
of  a  gentlemen,  enter  into  business  and  social  circles  and 
ply  any  game  of  deception  he  chooses,  and,  until  he  runs 
his  game  out,  and  swindles  some  one,  no  one  is  suspicious 
of  his  character.  [N^ot  so  with  a  colony  town.  No  one 
can  become  a  citizen  or  enter  into  any  business  without 
first  becoming  a  member  of  the  colony,  and  a  colony  can 
make  its  restrictions  so  rigid,  for  admitting  anyone,  that 
it  will  make  it  hard  for  disreputable  characters  to  enter  its 
gates.  Some  will  doubtless  find  their  way  in,  with  all  the 
safeguards  that  can  be  placed,  but  they  will  not  find  it  so 
easy  to  ply  their  game  as  in  towns  that  are  free  for  all. 

CHAPTEE  XYII. 

October  15th,  1898. 
This  is  three  months  after  our  excursion  and  annual 


—109— 

meeting.  The  excursion  was  all  we  anticipated  in  num- 
bers and  accomplishment  for  good  for  colony  growth. 
All  were  more  than  pleased  with  the  location  and  natural 
advantages,  and  after  looking  over  the  work  accomplished 
by  so  small  a  number,  all  said  it  was  well  done. 

The  colony  teams  met  us  at  Montrose,  five  in  number, 
and  a  more  jolly  crowd  never  climbed  into  wagons  for  a 
rough  ride,  and  camp  life,  than  ours.  A  copy  of  Mrs. 
Harrington's  article,  giving  a  full  description,  and  the 
names  of  all  the  party,  was  in  the  "Rocky  Mountain 
ISTews,"  of  July  24th. 

Our  election  of  board,  for  the  ensuing  year,  made 
nearly  a  clean  sweep  of  the  old  board,  to  appease  grum- 
blers and  effect  harmony,  if  possible.  In  making  this 
change,  the  colony  lost  two  of  its  best  directors  on  the 
board,  M.  U.  Bowen  and  O.  E.  Brooks,  and  retained  two 
of  the  old  board,  the  most  impractical  and  unscrupulous, 
J.  H.  Bramier  and  M.  Franklin.  I  am  thus  plain  in  my 
statement  of  these  men,  that  colony  history  may.  show,  on 
its  pages,  when  time  reveals  their  acts  so  plain  that  no  one 
can  mistake  them  for  good  intents. 

It  is  a  great  sorrow  to  all  colony  efforts  that  such 
seltish  men  find  their  way  into  their  ranks,  to  work  out 
selfish,  damnable  schemes  and  handicap  all  progress,  caus- 
ing double  the  work  for  the  real  friends  and  promoters  to 
overcome,  and  why  such  men  are  sustained  by  a  better 
thinking  class,  is  beyond  my  comprehension.  Again,  the 
foolish  enactment  of  our  law  makers,  in  creating  the  cu- 
mulative vote,  to  save  the  minority  in  corporations,  has 
had  its  bad  effect  in  our  colony  elections.  It  only  aids  the 
slum  politician  to  hold  a  place  he  could  not  otherwise 
hold.  We  hope  to  see  the  colony  rise  above  its  use,  and 
brand  any  member,  who  proposes  using  it,  as  an  enemy  of 


—  110— 

the  colony,  who  will  not  be  tolerated  or  treated  on  terms 
of  equality. 

We  are  sorry  to  record  that  three  factions  still  exist 
in  our  elections.  E.  G.  Brown  being  the  leader  of  the 
Independents  at  the  last  election,  they  failed  in  strength, 
dealing  as  they  were  with  the  float.  Tlieir  move  had  one 
good  effect,  which  caused  the  B.  L.  Smith  faction  to  break 
from  their  firm  standing  of  no  compromise  with  the 
Brooks  and  Bowen  element,  which  stood  firm  for  the  best 
interest  of  the  colony.  They  could  count  their  strength 
with  certainty,  while  the  others  were  wavering  in  the  bal- 
ance, tipping  from  side  to  side  in  uncertain  quantity  and 
quality,  which  was  amusing,  if  not  very  disgusting.  The 
desire  for  power  makes  strange  companions. 

After  the  election  was  over  and  order  came  out  of 
chaos,  an  event  took  place  which  was  not  looked  for- 
B.  L.  Smith  turned  to  C.  E.  Brooks  and  said:  "I  wish  to 
shake  hands  with  Mr.   Brooks,  across  the  bloody  chasm.' 

Hard  feelings  had.  existed  between  these  two  strong 
men  for  some  time  past,  and  tliis  was  the  ending,  also  the 
renewing  of  good  will  between  the  four  Smith  brothers,  al^ 
being  members  of  the  colony,  Ohas.  E.  Smith,  Truman  O. 
Smith  and  Irvin  W.  Smith,  taking  sides  against  Benjamin 
L.  Smith,  in  the  colony  policy.  Thus  ended  the  annual 
election  of  1898,  and  started  on   a  better  condition. 

Our  membership  now  numbers  over  four  hundred, 
and  new  members  are  gradually  coming  in.  Uuv  outlook 
at  this  date  seems  propitious  of  success,  though  we  still 
have  some  sand  bars  to  remove,  in  the  form  of  obstruc- 
tionists. It  takes  eternal  vigilance  to  meet  all  the  inroads 
made  on  the  colony  crib  by  varmints  of  all  shades  of  cun- 
ning, men  so  small  that  they  could  crawl  through  a  knot 
hole   to  get  what  they  wanted  at  the  loss  of  the  colony, 


— Ill— 

men  so  blind  that  they  cannot  see  that  they  are  injuring 
themselves  by  injuring  the  colony.  On  this  ground  they 
antagonize  eyeryone  who  stands  up  for  colony  interest 
and  with  eagerness  that  would  become  a  better  cause. 

Against  these  rodents  is  a  majority  of  unselfish 
members  which  any  colony  might  be  proud  of.  These 
must  suffer  the  pangs  of  poison  arrows,  shot  at  them  from 
the  end  of  a  forked  tongue,  that  has  no  regard  for  the 
truth.  They  are  martyrs  to  the  cause  they  love,  and  can 
stand  this  and  not  flinch  from  duty,  and  their  names  will 
stand  the  test  of  years  to  come,  in  colony  history,  when 
the  liar  and  traitor  is  forgotten,  or  the  name  only  used,  as 
the  name  of  Benedict  Arnold  i  sin  our  Country's  History, 
to  show  the  depths  of  depravity  to  which  one  may  sink 
for  self-aggrandizement. 

In  this  connection,  I  will  mention  that  the  Denver 
Club  has  universally  come  in  for  its  share  of  censure,  by 
this  aforementioned  class.  If  anything  did  not  work  to 
please  their  plans  they  were  sure  the  Denver  Club  was 
defeating  them  through  its  influence  over  the  board  of 
directors.  This  had  no  foundation  in  facts,  only  when 
very  extreme  measures  had  to  be  taken  to  save  the  colony 
from  disruption. 

THE  SPANISH  WAR. 

The  war  with  Spain  is  "statu  quo."  Peace  commis- 
sioners from  both  countries  are  in  Paris,  France,  trying 
to  settle  differences  under  the  protocol,  which  caused  the 
clash  of  war  to  cease  over  a  month  ago.  Poor,  blind, 
brutal,  old  Spain,  with  her  boast  of  honor,  has  fallen  an 
easy  prey,  when  she  came  in  contact  with  the  much  de- 
spised American  pig.  Her  so-called  powerful  navy  fleets 
melted  away  like  snow  in   April,  under  the  well  directed 


—112— 

fire  of  Uncle  Sam's  guns.  Their  impregnable  forts  were 
beaten  down  like  brick  kilns,  their  towns  taken  with  little 
or  no  loss  to  the  American  army  and  navy.  Their  feeble 
resistance,  from  strong  fortifications  at  Porto  Rico  and 
Manila,  placed  them  below  the  Bushman  savage.  This 
fast-firing,  long  range  gun,  in  the  hands  of  as  good  a 
marksman  as  the  American  is,  would  have  made  great 
decimation  in  Spanish  ranks. 

Bombast  and  arrogance  do  not  stand  for  bravery  or 
skill  when  it  comes  to  a  contest  of  superiority  with  arms. 
In  fact,  it  never  wins  and  never  should.  The  Latin  nations 
are  given  to  this  sort  of  patriotism  and  are  losing  ground 
as  time  goes  by.  Love  of  country  must  be  mated  with 
love  of  justice  and  humanity  or  the  spark  will  die  in  its 
own  ashes. 

France  is  the  best  of  her  kind,  but  is  now  trembling 
and  no  longer  stands  at  the  head  of  great  and  powerful 
nations.  Her  army  is  corrupt,  her  civil  courts  are  a  sham, 
her  semi-republican  government  is  only  in  name,  little 
better  than  the  Mexican  Republic,  that  one  man- holds  in 
his  hand.  The  liberty  of  the  nation,  such  as  it  is,  is  good 
by  comparison  with  worse  ones  of  the  past  under  less  lib- 
eral rulers  than  Diaz,  who  is  a  progressive  man  and  is 
doing  more  for  his  people  than  all  predecessors.  Aside 
from  blood,  ignorance  and  religion,  it  has  an  equal  chance 
with  its  neighbor,  the  greatest  republic  of  the  w^orld,  who 
stands  at  the  head  of  all  nations  in  all  respects. 

Mexico  should  expand  by  example,  if  not  too  blind  to 
see  the  advantage  she  has.  The  day  of  wooden  carts  and 
plows  of  the  crudest  structure,  must  go  first,  then  the  sad- 
dle and  sombrero  hat,  not  the  only  evidence  of  personal 
property  worth  taxing. 


—  US- 
Nations  do  not  seem  to  rise  much  above  the  individ- 
ual in  matters  of  gain.  The  weak  ones  must  submit  to 
the  power  of  the  strong.  For  instance,  Africa  has  been 
gobbled  up  by  England,  France,  Germany,  Portugal,  Bus- 
sia,  and  now  Chi^  is  being  invaded  and  will  lose  all  her 
power  as  a  nation.  Wonderful  in  numbers  but  not 
combatative  in  nature,  she  is  weak  in  defence.  India,  like- 
wise, great  in  resources  and  population,  is  ruled  by  the 
iron  hand  of  England,  and  its  inhabitants  are  the  poorest 
of  poor  serfs  of  the  earth.     . 

We  are  told  of  an  all-wise  Father,  who  created  all  and 
j.ules  all  as  in  the  hollow  of  his  hand,  yet  we  see  these 
creatures  of  his  own  image  and  make,  doing  just  as  if 
Satan  had  them  in  the  hollow  of  his  hand  and  was  their 
father,  in  fact.  It  is  strange  how  long  human  nature  will 
hold  to  the  iniquities  of  religious  superstition,  and  talk 
about  a  ruling  providence  saving  one  man's  life,  no  better 
than  the  other  who  goes  to  death,  or  providence  having 
anything  to  do  with  the  rise  or  fall  of  a  nation. 

If  an  individual  lives  a  fast,  extravagant  life,  he  is 
very  likely  to  cause  his  own  ruin.  He  violates  the  laws 
of  health  and  the  law  of  economy;  by  his  mode  of  proced- 
ure, he  creates  enemies,  who  are  ready  to  take  any 
advantage  of  him,  which  may  change  his  circumstances  at 
a  time  that  would  cause  his  ruin. 

A  nation  may  do  the  same,  only  different  in  degree, 
and  cause  its  own  ruin;  providence  has  nothing  to  do  with 
it.  Men  act  under  impulse,  whether  it  is  for  good  or  evil, 
and  generally  from  selfish  motives;  providence  does  not 
seem  to  encourage  good  more  than  evil.  The  evil  man 
seems  to  have  as  much  of  life's  goods  as  any  one,  and 
Shakespeare  says,  he  lives  longer.  "The  good  die  early, 
the  mean  burn  low  in  the  socket." 


—114— 

The  state  election  was  held  November  8th,  1898,  and 
resulted  in  a  victory  for  the  people  and  bi-metalism,  in  the 
election  of  (J.  E.  Thomas  as  governor,  John  C.  Bell  and 
John  Shafroth  to  succeed  themselves  in  their  seats  in  the 
hall  of  representatives,  both  staunch  silver  men  that  will 
do  justice  for  the  people, 

E.  O.  Wolcott,  who  has  misrepresented  our  people  in 
the  senate  of  the  United  States,  has  heard  the  voice  of  an 
indignant  people,  at  last,  by  snowing  under  his  brother, 
Henry  R.  W^olcott,  who  aspired  for  governor  under  direc- 
tion of  his  corrupt  brother,  E.  O.  Wolcott.  Defeat,  at 
this  age  of  American  corruption,  does  not  put  shame  upon 
the  defeated,  that  has  any  lasting  effect.  The  money  god 
comes  from  under  the  darkest  cloud,  with  smiling  face  to 
do  battle  for  power.  Shame,  or  any  thought  of  who  suf- 
fers, never  enters  the  domain  of  this  sweeping,  grasping 
octopus. 

As  fast  as  old  Father  Time  clears  the  earth  of  one  set, 
another  comes,  made  stronger  by  the  blind  teachings  of 
the  past  generations,  that  money  is  their  god. 

Denver  and  Colorado  have  just  passed  through  a  siege 
of  religious  hypocracy,  under  one  Dwight  L.  'Moody,  a 
man  that  might  have  done  some  good  in  the  world  as  a 
farmer  or  blacksmith,  with  his  strong  physical  body,  but 
he  chooses  to  live  on  the  labor  of  others,  by  playing  on 
the  ignorance  and  superstition  of  people  who  are  foolish 
enough  to  spend  their  time  listening  to  his  old,  threadbare, 
sensational  stories  about  conversion  of  sinners  to  God,  as 
he  calls  it,  while  he  rakes  in  the  dollars  which  are  his  real 
god.  He  lives  in  fine  hotels,  dresses  well,  and  has  the 
adoration  of  soft  headed  men  and  foolish  woman,  who  can 
be  carried  away  with  such  trash  as  he  feeds  to  them  and 
they  become  as  putty  in  his  hands. 


115 - 

The  debt-ridden,  fine  churches  want  him  to  draw 
money  out  of  the  debt-ridden  poor,  to  pay  for  their  wild 
Extravagance,  in  great  structures  that  Christ  would  feel 
out  of  place  in,  if  the  man  was  as  humble  and  meek  as  his 
history  would  indicate.  Yet  you  will  hear  his  name  re- 
peated and  hallowed  in  reverential  terms,  in  these  glittering 
places  of  hollow  worship,  as  though  he  had  taught  rascality 
as  one  of  the  saving  ordinances,  necessary  to  reach  heaven 
and  be  a  saint.  It  makes  a  thinking  man  or  woman  weary 
of  his  kind  to  see  the  foolish  inconsistency  and  swindling 
hypocrisy  of  the  so-called  followers  of  Christ.  The 
vicarious  atonement  idea  of  waiting  until  the  last  breath 
is  about  gone  and  think  that  calling  on  Christ  to  save 
them  is  possible,  after  living  a  mean  life. 

The  passage  of  the  old  Icarian  Communistic  Colony 
into  individualism  is  on  record  as  an  event  to  be  deplored, 
after  having  lived  fifty  years.  Its  affairs  were  wound  up 
on  October  28th,  1898,  having  been  founded  by  Etienne 
Cabot,  of  France,  a  philanthropist  and  social  writer,  who 
saw  and  felt  deeply,  the  wrongs  of  the  poor  in  his  own 
country,  but  was  not  permitted  to  found  a  home  for  them 
in  his  own  country,  so  came  to  free  America,  first  settling 
in  Texas,  then  went  to  New  Orleane,  in  Louisiana,  where 
they  were  joined  by  a  larger  number,  and  learned  of  the 
Mormon  expulsion  from  Nauvoo,  Illinois. 

They  bought  the  Mormon's  buildings  and  secured 
from  the  legislature  of  Illinois,  a  charter  granting  certain 
special  privileges  and  immunities.  About  two  thousand 
French  socialists  joined  them,  Cabot  at  their  head.  He 
was  practically  their  dictator  and  had  absolute  power  in 
all  things,  relating  to  the  conducting  of  the  community^ 
and  so  long  as  left  in   his  charge,  all  went  well  and  the 


—lie- 
community  grew  and  prospered  and  there  was  peace  and 
plenty. 

It  is  said  tliat  Yankee  influence  made  inroads  upon 
this  well-to-do  people,  through  their  example  in  money 
making,  showing  to  the  younger  generation,  the  advantages 
of  gaining,  as  individuals,  large  tracts  of  land,  with  the 
possibility  of  enhancement,  and  making  the  owner  rich? 
while  the  communist  stood  still  so  far  as  individualism 
went. 

This  fact  bred  dissatisfaction  and  discontent  and 
caused  a  schism  that  grew.  The  control  of  the  founder, 
who  was  not  seeking  riches  for  the  few  and  loss  for  the 
many,  was  set  aside,  as  the  grasping  influence  grew  among 
the  members.  He  had  seen  the  danger  and  desired  to 
avoid  it  by  moving  from  Nauvoo  to  what  was  then  an  in- 
terior country  of  Iowa,  from  danger.  But  this  was  only 
a  temporary  good.  The  thrifty  West,  of  new,  rich  land 
soon  fllled  up  and  his  colony  was  again  surrounded  by  the 
money  gainer  of  competition,  who  wants  large  possessions, 
or  none. 

The  wild  dreams  of  riches  and  influence  are  a  part  of 
young  American  inheritance.  The  poorest  farmer's  or 
merchant's  son  has  a  high  hope  of  this  bauble  that  dances 
in  his  mind  as  the  highest  of  all  attainment  on  earth,  and 
next  to  the  orthodox  heaven,  with   its  gold  paved  streets. 

The  day  of  slow-coaches  is  past.  Rapid  fortunes 
must  come  or  go  with  high  tide,  or  be  carried  back  by  the 
undertow  to  oblivion.  It  seems  strange  that  so  few  are 
satisfied  with  the  mean  or  middle  position  in  life,  that 
gives  them  all  the  necessities  and  much  solid  pleasure  in 
life.  The  fleeting  show  of  the  short  time  on  which  we 
may  reckon,  is  so  brief  and  so  mixed  with  uncertainty 
that  it  is  like  a  bauble  on   the  sea— beautiful,  but  frail. 


117— 


CHAPTER  XYIII. 

December  6th,  1898. 
On  December  Ist,  we  have  to  record  the  first  sad  and 
serious  accident  in  the  four  years  of  the  colony  life.  All 
had  been  attending  the  fourth  anniversary  of  our  coming 
to  our  present  location,  few  in  numbers,  four  years  ago. 
Our  central  camp  at  Pinon  was  crowded  to  its  full  capaci- 
ty with  those  who  wished  to  witness  performances  and 
partake  of  the  feast,  prepared  for  the  occasion. 

All  went  well  and  happily  and  all  had  returned  to 
their  respective  places  of  duty.  The  saw  mill  crew  fired 
up  for  a  renewal  of  that  big  task  of  flume  lumber,  yet 
before  it.  ■ 

All  at  once  something  was  discovered  wrong,  by 
some  sound  given  off  or  other  indications  to  the  sight^ 
Mr.  Charles  Hirsh,  foreman,  Mr.  C.  C.  Dunn,  sawyer, 
Mr.  Ed.  Whitney,  engineer,  and  Mr.  Miner  Dunn,  setter, 
were  examining  things  to  discover  the  cause. 

Mr.  Hirsh  thought  of  some  other  duty  and  left  the 
others  of  more  experience  to  fathom  the  mystery  and 
saved  his  life,  for  only  fifteen  seconds  passed  before  the 
boiler  explosion  took  place.  Mr.  Whitney  being  blown 
into  the  air  and  falling  sixty  feet  away;  Miner  Dunn  was 
pulled  out  from  under  the  debris;  C.  C.  Dunn,  his  father, 
was  badly  scalded  and  his  eyes  were  injured,  but  it  is 
thought  he  will  recover.  The  others  only  lived  a  few 
moments,  unconscious  of  what  had  taken  place. 

The  cause  of  this  calamity  has  not  at  this  writing 
been  ascertained  and  may  never  be  fully  known.  Person- 
al opinions  will  not  make  facts,  as  the  daily  explosion  of 


—  118— 

boilers  in  some  portions  of  the  world  under  the  most 
mystifying  circumstances,  lead  one  to  believe  that  science 
has  not  yet  discovered  the  secret  that  liirks  around  every 
steam  boiler  in  the  world.  All  reasonable  causes  are 
understood  by  any  one  acquainted  with  the  common  prin- 
ciples of  steam  for  explosion  and  non-explosion  of  the 
ordinary  kind. 

The  colony  will  feel  the  loss  of  these  unfortunate 
members  that  were  called  so  suddenly  from  the  band  of 
workers.  Young  Mr.  Dunn  was  a  quiet,  hard  worker 
and  a  worthy  young  man,  who  will  never  be  forgotten  in 
the  colony  history.  Mr.  Whitney  was  entirely  his  oppo- 
site, a  nervous,  quick-tempered  man,  who  made  life  hard 
for  himself  and  others  about  him,  but  had  his  good  quali- 
ties and  his  friends.  He  leaves  a  wife  and  two  children 
to  mourn  his  loss.  Mr.  C.  O.  Dunn  who  was  scalded  and 
whose  eyes  were  injured,  came  to  us  from  St  Paul,  Minn. 
He  is  an  experienced  machinist  and  mill-man  of  many 
years'  standing.  He  will  miss  his  son.  Miner,  greatly,  as 
they  had  lived  and  worked  together  in  confidence  and  hai*- 
mony  many  years,  and  the  father  will  have  the  full  sym- 
pathy of  the  whole  colony;  while  the  mother  of  young 
Dunn  will  feel  his  loss  even  more  than  the  father. 

The  inquiry  is  often  made:  "How  will  it  aflPect  the 
colony?"  As  deplorable  as  it  is,  the  colony  will  go  on  as 
before.  It  can  sustain  the  small  financial  loss  that  comes 
and  not  be  embarrassed  to  any  harmful  degree.  We  are 
too  large  and  our  interests  too  great  to  let  any  ordinary 
loss  stop  our  operations. 

The  new  sixty  horse  boiler  will  soon  be  in  place  and 
the  large  saw  mill  will  take  the  place  of  the  small  one, 
and  the  capacity  will  be  doubled  for  the  production  of 
lumber  and  flume  purposes. 


—119— 

December  26th,  1898. 

The  nursery  club  is  being  organized  out  of  the  colony 
members,  for  the  purpose  of  economy  and  to  get  pure 
stock  for  our  orchards.  This  is  an  important  move  that 
all  members  should  feel  much  interested  in  and  assist  all 
they  can,  as  we  shall  aim  to  have  one  of  the  best  fruit 
districts  in  the  State.  We  have  the  land,  water  and  clim- 
ate to  justify  such  a  hope.  If  we  succeed  (and  we  see  no 
reason  why  we  shall  not)  it  will  be  a  part  of  the  colony 
machinery  that  will  bring  an  income,  after  it  is  turned 
over  for  colony  profits  and  fully  in  its  control. 

At  a  recent  board  meeting,  Mr.  P.  B.  Ilirsh  was  ap- 
pointed editor  of  "The  Altrurian;"  the  issue  of  December 
14th,  1898,  being  the  first  one  under  his  control,  and  we 
all  look  forward  to  better  things,  and  a  solid  improvement 
in  the  paper  that  will  continue  to  lift  it  onto  a  higher 
plane,  step  by  step,  until  it  may  reach  a  standard  among 
socialistic  papers,  second  to  none  in  its  advocacy  of  justice 
between  man  and  man. 

Leaving  the  field  of  pessimistic  theory  for  that  of 
practical  co-operation,  taking  all  the  good  points  and  cast- 
ing away  the  chaff  of  all  in  fhe  pursuit  of  independence 
and  freedom,  let  us  have  the  manhood  to  respect  the  views 
of  others,  differing  from  us  in  modes  of  reachinor  the  same 
object. 

Time  will  prove  whether  our  method  is  the  successful 
one  or  not;  that  is,  the  one  that  will  meet  human  neces- 
sity and  give  the  best  satisfaction  to  the  greatest  number. 
As  a  colony,  we  have  shaped  our  laws  to  fit  conditions. 
If  conditions  change,  we  will  feel  justified  in  changing  our 
laws  to  meet  them  again.  We  have  seen  failures  under 
iron  clad  intentions  to  make  conditions  to  suit  theories. 
This  is  a  hardship  to  those  who  attempt  it  and  generally 
results  in  failure. 


—120— 

June  2nd,  1899. 
Yesterday,  June  1st,  1899,  the  formal  transfer  of 
Cuba  to  the  United  States  Government,  took  place  accord- 
ing to  the  agreement  made  at  Paris,  France,  between  the 
United  States  commissioners  and  those  of  Spain,  a  short 
time  ago.  The  Spanish  flags  were  taken  down  from  all 
public  places,  including  the  palace  or  governor's  quarters, 
and  the  American  flags  hoisted  in  their  places.  This  ends 
Spain's  colonial  possessions  on  this  side  of  the  ocean, 
which  she  has  held  for  four  hundred  years,  and  ruled  with 
an  iron  hand  that  has  caused  her  subjects  to  rebel  time 
and  again,  but  always  being  too  weak  to  gain  their 
liberty. 

By  nature  the  Spaniards  are  tyrants  and  as  cruel  as 
the  most  barbarous  savages.  They  are  not  a  brave  people 
or  they  would  not  be  so  cruel.  Their  high  sense  of  honor 
in  some  things  seems  so  inconsistent,  that  one  takes  it  as  a 
thin  coating  to  cover  a  nauseous  pill  of  deception.  They 
never  w^ere  entitled  to  rank  among  civilized  nations. 
They  are  paying  the  penalty  of  long  deserved  punishment. 
They  are  financially  bankrupt,  with  a  disrupted  govern- 
ment that  may  explode  like  a  volcano,  on  them  at  any 
time.  They  are  reaping  what  they  have  sown,  in  sack 
cloth  and  aslies. 

The  McKinley  government  has  made  an  aggressive 
move  in  expansion  of  territory  East  and  West  and  has  its 
hands  full  to  pacify  the  Philippinos  with  promises  of  a 
new  and  better  government.  They  want  an  independent 
government  and  deny  the  right  of  Spain  to  sell  them  into 
new  ownership  of  the  United  States  government  at  any 
price,  and  at  this  date  it  seems  quite  evident  that  a  clash 
of  arras  must  soon  come..  Aguirialdo  is  a  wily  leader.  It 
may  cause  much  trouble  to  suppress  he  and  his  followers 


—121— 

in  their  own  country.  They  feel  enthused  over  their  re- 
cent victory  over  the  Spaniards,  but  will  find  a  much 
different  enemy  in  the  American  when  it  comes  to  a  con- 
test.    This  they  do  not  seem  to  understand. 

February  6th,  1899. 

The  clash  has  come  and  the  Philippinos  have  suffered 
a  signal  defeat  at  a  great  loss  of  killed  and  wounded  and 
prisoners,  cannon,  guns  and  ammunition.  Town  after  town 
has  been  taken  around  Manila  with  only  a  small  loss  of 
life  and  a  few  wounded  on  the  part  of  the  American  sol- 
diers. The  long  delay  in  signing  the  treaty  between 
United  States  and  Spain,  on  account  of  the  Philippines, 
gave  them  courage  and  caused  them  to  make  a  break. 

They  have  imbibed  much  of  the  Spaniard's  bombast 
about  liberty,  honor  and  dying  for  country,  but  make  a 
poor  defence  when  it  comes  to  a  test  of  zeal  and  bravery. 
The  impetuosity  of  the  American  soldier  takes  them  by 
surprise,  their  hearts  fail  rhem  and  their  legs  carry  them 
away  from  danger.  Guerilla  warfare  is  their  only  hope  of 
prolonging  their  hopeless  effort. 

They  are  a  mongrel  race  of  savages,  unequal  in  every 
respect  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  race,  but  having  some  very 
good  qualities  and  being  somewhat  advanced  in  civilization. 
Their  educated  leaders  seem  well  up  in  many  directions, 
but  far  inferior  in  that  which  makes  a  true  man  and  pa- 
triot, such  as  they  boast  of,  and  they  could  not  maintain  a 
staple  government  one  decade. 

The  unequal  task  of  lighting  a  country  of  seventy- 
live  millions  population,  which  is  able  to  maintain  a  war- 
fare at  almost  any  expense,  with  all  the  best  improved 
arms  on  land  and  ocean,  handled  by  the  best  marksmen  in 
the  world  with  no  exceptions,  would  seem  as  futile  as  try- 


—  122— 

ing  to  stop  the  ebb  and  flow  of  the  tide  on  the  ocean  beach. 
Ignorance  on  the  part  of  the  masses  and  fool-hardy  pride 
of  their  leaders  to  show  their  skill  and  bravery,  makes  the 
conflict  possible,  until  they  are  tanglit  a  severe  lesson  by 
being  beaten. 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Again  the  colony  is  at  a  boiling  point;  the  scam  is 
on  top  and  is  slopping  over,  putting  out  the  tire  that  has 
made  the  steam  to  push  the  piston  rod  and  move  the  ma- 
chinery. This  comes  about  once  a  year  ever  since  the 
ditch  has  been  under  construction,  and  always  in  the  time 
of  year  most  propitious  for  rapid  work. 

We  are  now  in  the  Spring  month,  March  12th,  and 
our  management  is  in  a  tangle  to  provide  means  and  ways 
to  feed  man  and  beast  The  managers  employ  more  time 
in  finding  fault  with  each  other  than  in  doing  the  needed 
work  of  the  colony.  What  will  be  the  end  of  this  narrow, 
selfish  work,  no  man  is  yet  able  to  see. 

One  Isaac  Tarkoff,  a  Kussian  Jew,  has  been  em- 
powered by  the  board  to  act  in  any  way  he  deems  expedi- 
ent to  conduct  colony  affairs  and  at  this  date,  March  21st, 
he  is  in  this  city  (Denver)  hobnobbing  with  all  the  weak- 
lings in  our  membership,  to  get  their  support  of  his  policy. 
If  he  has  a  practical  one  to  pursue,  he  has  not  yet  made  it 
known  as  anything  new.  He  has  cheek  becoming  his 
persistent  race,  and  a  good  opinion  of  himself.  On  the 
ground  of  operation  he  has  a  sore- head  majority.  They 
are,  as  a  rule,  with  a  few  exceptions,  persons  that  have 
been  asking  special  favors  for  themselves  and  when  not 
able  to  obtain  them,  have  denounced  all  who  barred  their 
way,  irrespective  of  right  or  justice. 


—123— 

This  class  has  been  the  bane  to  contend  with,  destroy- 
ing harmony  and  constantly  causing  wrangling  over  small 
things,  and  losing  sight  of  the  main  object  that  is  to  be 
obtained  by  cohesion.  They  are  ready  to  follow  anyone 
who  will  bend  to  their  selfish  wishes,  and  denounce  anyone 
who  bars  their  way  to  do  as  they  please  with  joint  pro- 
perty. This  has  grown  out  of  the  opinion  that  it  is 
legitimate  to  rob  the  government  under  which  we  live. 
It  has  long  been  practiced  and  is  growing  in  corruption. 
The  present  investigation  of  the  beef  scandal  and  the 
screening  of  the  leading  officials,  who  receive  large  salaries 
and  are  not  satisfied,  but  must  go  in  collusion  to  rob  their 
own  fathers,  is  but  a  form  of  this. 

This  is  our  national  depravity  and  our  colony's  sor- 
row, as  it  is  poor  and  struggling  against  public  opinion  as 
to  the  feasibility  of  co-operation;  in  other  words,  recon- 
ciling the  differences  of  opinion  between  members  of  such 
an  organization. 

This  is  the  only  barrier  to  the  grand  success  of  co- 
operation. The  principle  is  a  correct  one  and  has  proven 
such  in  the  older  countries,  where  people  by  oppression, 
learned  the  necessity  of  communal  unity  for  self  protection. 
The  vaunted  freedom  of  an  American,  which  once  had  a 
meaning,  is  being  shorn  until  the  word  has  no  meaning; 
but  ignorance  is  still  dancing  as  they  suppose,  under  the 
shade  of  liberty  and  it  is  only  the  shadow  of  serfdom 
which  is  corrjing  that  will  grow  strong  while  they  sleep  in 
supposed  security. 

When  capital  shuts  all  the  doors  of  single  enterprise 
and  forces  wages  down,  and  the  necessities  of  life  up, 
where  is  your  freedom?  It  will  only  be  a  by- word  to  the 
coming  generations,  that  will  struggle  in  the  meshes  that 
are  now  being  woven,  as  the  helpless  fly  in  the  spider's 


—124— 

web.     Then,  and  then  only,  will  you  see  the  mistake  of 
abusing  your  brother,  who  is  trying  to  do  you  good. 

At  a  very  unpropitious  time,  March  20th,  1899,  seven 
of  the  oldest  and  best  workers  were  discharged  from  the 
work.  Three  of  them  were  members  of  the  board,  and 
one  the  president,  namely:  Geo.  B.  Ruggles,  Edward 
8andry  and  T.  O.  Smith  (president).  The  others  are: 
M.  D.  Bowen,  who  was  on  the  ditch  for  three  years  as 
foreman,  E.  C.  Brooks,  commissary,  William  Liebenburg, 
late  general  manager,  and  I.  W.  Smith.  These  old  wheel 
horses  have  been  keeping  the  vampires  in  check  and  have 
differed  with  the  management,  on  general  principles,  and 
with  the  civil  engineer. 

Mr.  Winters  changed  the  grade  of  ditch,  contrary  to 
general  rules  on  ditches,  and  they  protested  against  his 
methods,  believing  that  it  was  time  lost  to  follow  his 
stakes;  but,  having  established  houses  at  Pinon  and  hav- 
ing all  they  had  in  the  world  there,  they  pleaded  to  be 
allowed  to  work  together  and  appoint  their  own  foreman. 
But  the  newly  appointed  general  manager  told  them  that 
he  would  "scatter  them  to  hell  iirst." 

This  same  man,  working  under  M.  D.  Bowen,  as  a 
foreman  on  the  ditch,  was  as  much  opposed  to  the  change 
of  survey  as  anyone.  His  name  is  C.  C.  Langford.  Long 
may  the  colony  remember  the  man  who  turned  like  a 
weathercock,  against  his  own  opinions,  for  a  petty  position. 

It  is  said  that  the  mills  of  God  giind  slowly,  but  ex- 
ceeding fine.  The  grist  is  now  in  the  colony  hoppei*  and 
the  bran  and  second  grade  flour  must  be  separateed  from 
the  XXX  flour,  which  is  the  commercial  pure  article  that 
bears  transportation  and  inspection,  the  world  over,  and 
as  the  clock  hand  of  time  points  out  the  true  friends  of 
the  colony,  the  above    named,    discharged   members  will 


—125— 

stand  in  the  same  relation  to  our  people  in  history  as  do 
our  fathers  of  the  revolution  who,  in  many  cases,  were 
condemned  by  loyal  Tories  that  did  not  have  the  nerve  to 
be  free  men.  They  could  better  act  as  spies  and  stand  un- 
just taxation.  Man's  inhumanity  to  man  is  the  most 
deplorable  quality  in  his  composition.  It  goes  deep  into 
depravity  and  low  groveling  to  injure  the  iiner  feelings 
and  has  a  tendency  to  make  good  and  noble  people  re- 
vengeful and  finally  dishonest  and  uncharitable.  It  destroys 
confidence,  causes  distrust  in  all  human  nature,  cuts  all 
ties  of  affection,  sets  brother  against  brother,  and  each 
teaches  gold  as  the  only  and  true  friend.  Hence  we  see 
worshippers  of  the  golden  calf  increasing  and  brotherly 
love  diminishing.  The  rippling  waves  of  the  stone,  cast 
into  the  still  water,  stir  up  the  impurities  that  poison. 

At  this  date,  April  14th,  1899,  Mr.  Brooks  writes 
that  the  little  rebellious  minority  have  taken  shelter  on 
some  farming  land  below  Pinon,  on  the  iSan  Miguel  River, 
and  are  planting  garden  and  expect  to  put  in  crops  to  sus- 
tain themselves  as  best  they  can  until  the  colony  ditch  is 
on  the  park.  This  minority  represents  some  six  thousands 
in  credits,  on  the  colony  books,  for  money  paid  in  and 
work  performed.  This  entitles  them  to  water  and  all  the 
privileges  and  benefits  of  any  member,  which  cannot  be 
taken  from  them,  only  by  some  future  made  creditor  of 
their  will  or  necessity. 

A  large  number  of  the  Denver  C'iub  are  in  sympathy 
with  these  badly  treated  members  and  in  good  time  will 
see  that  they  are  reinstated,  as  they  should  be,  as  worthy 
members.  The  Denver  Club  has  been  from  the  beginning 
the  backbone  of  the  colony.  More  members  have  been 
recruited,  more  money  sent  in  for  all  purposes,  than  from 
all  other  clubs  put  together.     Its  meetings  have  been  con- 


—  126— 

stant  from  the  start,  never  lagging  for  anything,  and  it 
has  some  claims  above  the  ordinary,  to  be  heard  in  the 
colony  councils,  above  a  dictator  that  assumes  so  much  in 
comparison  to  those  that  have  been  pioneers  in  the  move- 
ment, always  standing  in  the  fore  for  colony  interest, 
through  good  and  bad  report,  giving  their  time  and  money 
when  cold  shadows  hung  over  the  weak  life  of  a  child 
born  in  poverty. 

But  the  cold  blooded  ingrate  cares  not  who  planted 
the  tree  which  bore  fruit  that  sustained  him.  He  has  no 
thanks  and  would  not  grant  justice  to  the  founders,  to  say 
anything  of  a  word  of  praise.  He  would  rather  accuse 
them  of  selfish  design  and  downright  dishonesty  of  purpose. 
The  Denver  Club  has  felt  this  for  several  years  but  never 
paid  any  attention  to  it,  knowing  there  were  noble  excep- 
tions, that  did  fully  appreciate  its  motives. 

The  principals  in  this  club,  in  governing  its  actions 
and  paying  its  expenses,  are,  C.  E.  Smith  and  wife,  Geo. 
E.  Wright  and  wife,  D.  Q.  Charles  and  wife,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Gove,  Mr.  'and  Mrs.  Koss  Pfifer,  JDiel,  Bennie  and 
the  writer,  E.  L.  Gallatin,  and  many  others  that  were  not 
regular  attendants,  coming  when  they  could  to  pay  dues 
and  get  the  news  and  colony  paper.  No.  309,  Charles 
Block  has  been  our  meeting  place  for  several  years.  It  is 
the  men's  pioneer  place  of  meeting,  and  pictures  of  Colo- 
rado's first  settlers,  men  and  women,  who  blazed  the  way 
for  the  great  state,  adorn  the  walls. 

These  pioneers  have  their  good  times  in  yearly  ban- 
quets, picnics  and  dances.  Tonight,  April  15th,  1899, 
they  have  a  dance  and  an  old-timer,  eighty  years  of  age^ 
plays  the  violin  for  them.  They  have  their  charity  fund. 
All  did  not  make  the  fortune  that  brought  them  to  the 
gold  fields.     Misfortune  has  its  pets,  as  well  as  the  bloated 


—127  — 

millionaire.  When  the  last  rites  of  their  lives  are  to  be 
performed,  the  old  ones  turn  out.  One  by  one,  they  are 
dropping  out  and  before  another  decade  slides  around, 
there  will  be  few  to  tell  the  tale  of  whacking  mules  or 
oxen  across  the  plains,  and  lighting  Indians. 


CHAPTER   XX. 

August  26th,  1899. 
Our  annual  meeting  and  election  took  place  at  Pinon, 
July  20th,  1899,  and  we  elected  J.  H.  Bramier,  James 
(Jooper,  D.  Q.  Charles,  Geo.  Douglass,  J.  H.  Gabriel, 
T.  C.  Gibbs,  Chas.  M.  Hirsh,  Wm.  F.  Liebenburg,  A.  C. 
Snyder,  as  members  of  the  board  of  directors  for  the  ensu- 
ing year. 

Taking  all  things  into  consideration,  it  was  a  very 
satisfactory  election.  New  blood  of  better  grade  came  in 
the  place  of  some  unscrupulous  ones  and  some  incompe- 
tents of  the  old  board,  who  were  playing  into  the  hands  of 
the  little  Jew,  who  made  his  boast  that  he  had  proxies  in 
his  possession  to  elect  his  choice  on  the  board,  but  it 
seems  he  was  counting  without  his  host,  or  bluffing. 

I  will  say,  without  fear  of  contradiction,  that  this 
man,  Tarkoff,  has  done  more  harm  and  given  the  colony 
more  discredit  than  he  ever  did  it  good,  in  the  way  of 
systematizing  the  management.  This  would  have  come, 
as  it  has  been  urged  from  the  iirst  by  those  that  knew  the 
importance,  but  could  not  be  on  the  ground  to  put  it  into 
effect,  and  we  are  glad  that  Mr.  Tarkoff  was  so  situated 
that  he  could,  and  we  are  glad  to  give  him  credit  for  any 
and  all  the  good  he  has  done  for  the  colony,  but  we  con- 
tend that  he  did  not  use  good  judgment  in  so  many  other 


—  128— 

directions  that  he  inflicted  upon   us  an  odium  that  it  will 
take  years  to  outlive. 

First  of  all,  he  made  the  colony  paper  a  sewer  to  carry 
all  the  spite  of  his  nature  against  all  those  who  did  not 
agree  witli  his  purposed  business  propositions.  He  cast 
slurs  on  all  the  old  members,  who  told  him  about  former 
mistakes  in  the  new  self-supporting  enterprise.  In  one  in- 
stance, he  said  through  the  paper,  that  certain  old  members 
on  the  board  did  not  have  capacity  to  run  a  peanut  stand  and 
when  they  asked  for  space  to  reply,  they  were  refused.  He 
has  taken  every  cowardly  chance  to  impune  the  motives  of 
all  persons  that  would  not  train  in  his  harness.  What  he 
dared  not  say  in  the  paper,  he  had  his  smooth  secretary, 
Franklin,  write,  throwing  out  insinuations  of  a  conspiracy 
being  formed  by  a  certain  few,  to  bond  the  colony  for  the 
purpose  of  personal  gain,  and  made  bold,  by  having  full 
control  of  a  brutish  majoi*ity  and  having  assured  support 
from  the  outside. 

This  narrow  egotist  thought  it  was  time  to  punish 
his  enemies.  He  had  their  hands  tied  and  they  could  not 
retort  or  reach  the  stockholder  he  had  fixed,  at  colony  ex- 
pense, to  see  his  greatness.  His  mud  was  too  thick  for 
some.  They  are  his  enemies  and  it  disgusted  them.  He 
has  caused  a  general  distrust,  with  a  majority  of  the  stock- 
holders. 

We  find  at  this  time,  on  our  books,  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  deliniquent  members,  some  who  have  paid 
only  the  first  payment  and  running  up  to  eighty  dollars. 
A  larger  number  are  offering  their  stock  for  sale  now 
than  ever  before  in  our  history.  We  have  less  money  com- 
ing now  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  members.  This  is 
a  pointer  that  shows  plainly  on  the  dial,  of  distrust  which 
this  man  has  brought  upon   us.     Yet,  he  has  the  cheek  to 


129— 

tell  lis  that  he  found  the  colony  almost  at  starvation's 
door,  on  March  1st,  1899,  while,  in  fact,  there  was  more 
money  being  collected  in  Denver,  by  C.  E.  Smith,  than  is 
being  obtained  now  from  all  outside  collections.  He  does 
not  give  the  real  situation  as  it  existed. 

The  boiler  explosion  took  place  December  1st,  and  a 
new  boiler  had  to  be  bought,  and  other  incidental  expenses 
met  because  of  the  death  of  two  members  and  the  wound- 
ing of  the  third  one,  which  added  to  the  total  indebtedness 
and  made  it  seem  large  to  the  board.  They  were  using 
the  strictest  economy  to  reduce  this  liability,  in  all  direc- 
tions, from  the  time  of  this  sad  accident  up  to  the  time 
this  wonderful  financier  took  the  poor  colony  under  his 
wing  and  saved  the  lives  of  both  man  and  beast,  by  bor- 
rowing eighty  dollars  from  a  new  member,  Mr.  McDonald. 
He  bought  a  carload  of  feed  for  the  horses  and  still  had 
the  eighty  dollars  in  his  pocket,  then  bought  supplies  for 
the  men  and  still  had  all  of  the  borrowed  money  left. 
This  is  spoken  of  in  President  Kister's  address,  at  the 
annual  election  in  July,  in  the  light  of  praise  for  this 
Moses,  with  his  power  to  bring  something  out  of  nothing 
for  a  much  suffering  people. 

One  would  infer  from  his  and  his  confrere's  state- 
ments that  the  colony  had  struck  a  stump  and  smashed  its 
credit  into  nothing.  This  is  false,  which  I  stand  ready  to 
prove.  So  far  as  the  Denver  houses,  which  are  the  largest 
of  their  kind  in  the  state,  are  concerned,  our  bills  had 
always  beea  paid  on  time,  with  all  the  houses  we  dealt 
with,  seven  in  number.  This,  Mr.  C.  E.  Smith,  the 
Denver  purchasing  agent,  can  prove  by  the  duplicate  re- 
ceipts in  his  hands  at  this  time. 

In  this  connection,  I  will  say  that  after  the  appoint- 
ment of  the  finance  committee,  placing  full  power  in  the 


—ISO- 
hands  of  its  chairman,  Mr.  Tarkoff,  Mr.  Smith  felt  it  his 
duty  to  inform  the  firm,  with  which  he  was  dealing  for 
the  colony,  of  the  change  of  policy  to  one-man  power,  as 
he  did  not  wish  to  he  held  responsihle  for  all  the  goods 
they  might  see  lit  to  order,  and  they  could  use  their  own 
discretion  in  filling  any  bills  in  the  future.  He  did  this 
for  his  own  protection,  as  he  is  in  the  government  service 
and  is  held  amenable  to  their  rules  in  his  conduct  with 
his  fellow  man,  to  that  extent  that  he  might  be  discharged 
on  any  complaint  of  dishonorable  connection  or  unpaid 
debts  of  his  own.  He  had  the  sanction  of  his  best  friends 
who  belong  to  the  colony,  in  this  city,  for  his  action. 

He  did  not  do  this  to  injure  the  colony  credit,  which 
he  had  done  so  much  to  build  up.  Far  from  it!  Anyone 
who  knows  his  deep  and  unselfish  interest  in  the  colony, 
from  its  incipiency  to  the  present  time,  would  not  accuse 
him  of  tearing  down  its  credit,  if  they  had  honest  motives, 
which  Tarkoff  in  his  wild  delirium  did  do.  His  thought 
was  to  tear  down  all  opposition  to  his  plans,  it  mattered 
not  who  suffered.  The  past  work  of  all  the  old  members 
was  as  trash  in  his  estimation  and  should  be  swept  aside 
into  the  dump  and  forgotten  forever  and  the  new  re- 
deemer worshipped,  though  he  had  made  three  failures  in 
his  own  business,  but,  like  all  of  his  kind,  he  saved  a  pit- 
tance for  himself  out  of  the  wreck,  and,  at  his  Father's  call, 
came  to  save  us  and  we  hope  He  will  have  better  use  for 
him  in  some  other  garden,  since  he  got  turned  down  by 
the  new  board,  as  chairman  of  the  finance  committee. 

We  hope  this  is  the  turning  point  for  a  better 
government  than  we  have  ever  had.  Tarkoff  is  the  third 
deposed  would-be  leader  who  has  undertaken  to  run 
things  and  made  a  signal  failure,  and  it  is  about  time  that 
the  most  obtuse  should  get  their  eyes  open   to  such  at- 


-131— 

tempts  and  place  good  men  on  the  board,  who  have  some 
practical  business  qualifications  and  have  no  political  ax 
to  grind  at  colony  cost  nor  any  selfish  motive  to  serve. 
We  have  such  men  in  our  ranks  and  have  some  of  them 
on  the  present  board  and  we  will  see  changes  in  the  con- 
duct of  our  affairs  never  suggested  by  I.  Tarkoff  or  Moses 
Franklin,  much  less  put  into  effect  by  them  in  their  reign 
of  terror,  which  has  put  us  in  discredit. 

I  cannot  be  mistaken  in  my  assertion  on  this  point. 
I  will  not  say  that  I  am  not  prejudiced  against  these  men, 
or  any  man  of  their  nationality.  It  would  be  false  if  I 
did,  and  I  firmly  believe  any  upright  thinking  man  or 
woman  feels  as  I  do  about  them,  but,  for  policy,  will  not 
assert  their  innermost  opinions  and  feelings  about  this 
tricky,  money-making  race,  which  is  sewing  seeds  that  are 
coming  up  by  millions  all  over  the  world,  causing  trusts 
and  syndicates  to  grow,  causing  labor  to  be  dishonorable 
and  our  young  to  believe  that  gold  is  god,  instead  of  char- 
acter and  knowledge.  ''Gain  wealth!"  is  the  cry  on  every 
side.  It  sufficices  for  all  other  gains  in  life;  it  brings 
friends;  it  makes  one  superior  to  other  people  in  the  eyes 
of  this  cormorant,  that  flaunts  his  dollars  on  every  occas- 
ion when  estimates  of  men  are  counted. 

The  Jew  is  a  stranger  to  shame.  He  disdains  labor 
in  the  sense  of  production.  The  upper  class  are  merchants 
and  owners  of  factories  and  employ  laborers,  but  grind 
them  down  to  a  mere  existence  and  pile  up  the  profits  on 
their  labor  until  the  poor  man  is  too  old  to  work  and  his 
children  take  his  place  in  slavery.  They  are  non-producers 
by  their  own  labor  and  set  a  bad  example  to  the  world. 
If  they  are  God's  chosen  people,  we  are  of  the  opinion 
that  He  must  have  been  of  Jewish  origin,  or  he  would 


—132— 

have  had   better  taste  and  judgment  than   to  select  such 
cattle,  ill  shaped  in  body  and  rotten  in  disposition. 

The  colony  outlook,  at  this  writing,  is  much  better 
than  it  has  been  for  months,  and  may  be  the  turning  point 
for  a  more  successful  policy  to  be  inaugurated. 

The  first  full  board  meeting  was  held  at  Pinon, 
August  21st,  and  some  radical  changes  were  made,  giving 
the  general  manager  more  power  than  has  ever  been  ac- 
corded any  previous  one  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  it  will 
solve  some  of  the  difficulties  that  have  hampered  us  in 
the  past,  such  as  appeals  to  the  board  on  small  grievances 
of  members,  which  have  kept  the  partisan  flame  burning 
where  it  should  have  been  snuffed  out.  The  board  is  to 
meet  quarterly  in  its  regular  sessions.  These  are  two 
steps  in  the  right  direction. 

A  called  meeting  is  decided  to  be  held  in  Denver  on 
the  29th  of  September,  to  have  some  essential  changes 
made  in  the  by-laws,  by  the  stockholders,  and  it  will  be  a 
stockholder's  meeting.  We  hope  to  see  the  good  old  ship 
put  in  trim  so  as  to  sail  out  of  all  danger  of  striking  a 
sand  bar.  We  have  some  good  pilots  now,  who,  if  sus- 
tained, will  see  us  safe  through.  Our  crew  is  somewhat 
discouraged,  but  may  take  new  courage  when  things  are 
put  to  rights,  and  the  leaks  all  stopped.  They  are  tired 
of  pumping  to  save  colony  life.  It  is  getting  to  be  an  old 
story,  too  oft'  told,  that  wearenearing  the  promised  land, 
and  yet  so  far  from  it,  when  we  count  the  miles  of  ditch 
yet  to  be  made. 

Our  first  law  suit  took  place  in  Denver,  July  7,  1899, 
before  Judge  Johnson,  one  of  the  district  courts,  to  test 
the  validity  of  holding  the  annual  meeting  in  Denver,  in- 
stead of  Pinon,  in  accordance  with  section  six,  of  articles 


—133— 

of  incorporation,  which  read  as  follows:  "The  principal 
office  of  the  company  within  said  state  of  Colorado,  shall 
be  located  in  the  city  of  Denver.  Other  offices  may  be 
established  elsewhere,  where  the  company  may  have  in- 
terests, as  may  be  provided  by  the  by-laws." 

A  request  to  the  board  had  been  made  in  writing  by 
twelve  members  to  call  the  meeting  here,  but  they  pos- 
itively refused  the  request.  The  next  move  was  to  man- 
damus them  to  bring  the  meeting  to  Denver,  and  notice 
of  this  was  sent  by  J.  Warner  Mills,  attorney  for  the 
complainants,  Geo.  E.  Wright,  Geo.  E.  Euggles,  C.  E. 
Smith  and  others.  This  prompted  the  board  of  directors 
to  appoint  B.  L.  Smith,  E.  G  Brown  and  I.  Tarkoff  as 
commissioners,  with  full  power  to  act  for  them  in  defend- 
ing the  removal  of  the  meetings  from  Pinon,  or  any  of 
the  colony  officials. 

These  commissioners  rented  rooms  for  headquarters, 
wrote  notes  to  all  Denver  members  to  call  and  confer 
with  them,  except  those  more  directly  interested  in  the 
suit.  They  employed  M.  B.  Carpenter,  a  man  of  shady 
reputation,  as  their  attorney.  The  Denver  people  treated 
these  people  cordially,  called  a  meeting  at  Mr.  Iloyer's 
house  to  confer  with  them  on  the  different  points  at  issue 
and  there  was  a  friendly  exchange  of  opinion.  E.  G. 
Brown,  as  speaker,  said  they  had  come  to  fight  us  on  this 
case  to  the  bitter  end. 

The  suit  came  off  as  set  on  the  docket,  and  was  put 
upon  the  basis  of  law  alone  by  Mr.  Mills,  no  testimony 
being  taken  on  either  side.  Yet,  one  Martin  Locker,  a 
tire-eating  socialist,  insisted  upon  making  a  statement  to 
the  court  and  was  waved  down  twice  and  told  to  take  his 
seat,  and  if  the  court  wanted  to  hear  from  him  he  would 
be  called  on. 


—  134— 

This  irrepressible  individual  cut  some  figure  in  the 
Chicago  riot,  inaugurated  by  anarchists  some  years  ago, 
when  several  were  condemned  and  hung  and  several  im- 
prisoned for  the  part  they  took.  Locker  acted  as  a  second 
for  Tarkoff,  in  trying  to  bring  the  Denver  club  under  his 
rule,  where  he  was  first  appointed  as  chairman  of  the  fin- 
ance farce  and  made  his  first  costly  trip  on  colony  business, 
bought  rotten  hams  at  a  discount  and  started  that  famous 
bank  account  at  the  First  National  Bank  of  Denver,  made 
his  speech,  and  said  at  the  beginning,  that  he  was  wound 
up  for  one  year,  but,  two  hours  unwound  his  main  spring 
and  the  wheels  refused  to  turn.  He  did  get  a  small 
coterie  of  followers  in  Denver,  under  his  great  promises 
and  new  plans  to  make  the  colony  self-sustaining  and 
carry  on  the  work  on  a  larger  scale  than  ever  before.  At 
least  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  would  be  employed,  more 
than  doubling  the  force  of  sixty,  at  that  time. 

Six  months  of  time  has  passed  and  we  have  some 
thirty-two  or  thirty-five,  instead  of  one  hundred  and  fifty. 
His  harness  shop  and  feed  store  at  Naturita  proved  a  los- 
ing investment,  and  had  to  be  closed.  His  forty  thousand 
fruit  box  contract,  then  in  sight,  went  down  to  twenty-five 
thousand  and  will  prove,  like  the  others,  a  losing  invest- 
ment, but  they  said:  "Let  him  try  his  plans;  let  us  see 
first  before  we  condemn  them."  This  came  from  wage 
earners  that  had  not  a  dollar  or  dime  they  could  afford  to 
lose. 

The  opposition  came  from  members  who  were  in  bet- 
ter circumstances,  some  of  them  owning  their  own  homes 
or  getting  good  salaries.  They  saw  the  impracticability 
of  his  plans  and  told  him  so,  but  they  were  fools  in  the 
eyes  of  this  wise  man,  who  had  "carte  blanche"  to  do  as 
he  pleased  with  our  money  or  assets.       We  could  do  no- 


—  135  — 

thing  but  protest,  and  have  the  colony  paper  call  us  bond 
fiends,  fakes  and  blood  suckers,  sitting  in  cushioned  chairs 
in  our  offices,  ready  to  wreck  the  whole  enterprise  and 
leave  poor  families  to  starve,  that  we  had  been  instrument- 
al in  bringing  West  with  a  hope  of  a  home. 

We  had  to  stand  these  falsehoods  going  out  to  distant 
members,  through  the  paper  we  were  paying  for,  our  part 
in  the  cost  of  water.  It  cost  a  loss  of  eight  hundred  dol- 
lars last  year.  A  throttled  press  was  ours.  We  thought 
at  one  time,  of  starting  a  paper  of  our  own  and  sending  it 
free  to  places  where  it  would  do  the  most  good.  The 
first  communication  for  months,  appeared  from  the  writer 
August  28rd,  1899,  Vol.  5,  JSo.  47,  a  letter  to  F.  C- 
Tawney,  editor  of  "The  Altrurian."  It  was  a  surprise  to 
tne,  as  it  was  left  to  his  own  discretion,  but,  suppose  he 
wanted  a  chance  to  hit  back,  in  his  comments  in  the  same 
issue.  Some  who  know  him  think  that  he  is  not  capable 
of  writing  what  appears  as  his,  which  is  made  of  twirling, 
meaningless  words,  to  make  false  assertions,  that  some 
one  has  put  into  his  head. 

I  have  written  in  reply  and  time  will  tell  whether  it 
comes  to  light  or  not  The  purring  of  a  cat,  or  the  crow- 
ing of  a  rooster,  has  about  as  much  intelligent  meaning  as 
much  that  he  has  put  in  the  paper  for  months  past.  Oh! 
so  flat,  with  attempts  at  sarcasm. 

Dropping  the  little  Jew  and  his  satellites,  I  will  take 
up  the  mandamus  suit  again.  Judge  Johnson  ac- 
knowledged that  the  law  was  clear  on  the  subject  of 
bringing  the  meeting  to  Denver,  but,  to  let  the  colony 
settle  its  own  affairs  and  cast  the  responsibility  off  of  his 
own  shoulders,  as  to  where  it  should  meet  in  the  future, 
our  people  thought  it  best  not  to  appeal  to  a  higher  court, 
and  so  the  matter  was  dropped. 


—  136— 

The  writer  never  felt  niiicli  entlnisiasm  in  the  matter, 
as  law  suits  are  not  his  idea  of  justice  or  satisfactory  set- 
tlement of  anything,  and  on  his  owaccount  he  has  care- 
fully avoided  them.  But  it  was  thought  best  to  make  an 
aggressive  move  to  checkmate  matters  on  the  ground  of 
operation. 

Things  looked  shady  for  a  turn  of  management  be- 
fore it  would  be  eternally  too  late,  and  the  annual  election 
was  the  only  hope.  The  future  hinged  upon  the  election 
of  a  board  that  had  something  to  say  in  colony  interest, 
not  sit  like  so  many  puppets  to  be  pulled  by  the  leading 
showman  into  service  of  acquiescence.  To  hold  the  meet- 
ing in  Pinon  would  give  them  the  vantage  ground;  to 
bring  it  to  Denver  would  break  up  their  caucus  unit  and 
give  the  advantage  to  Denver.  This  was  one  of  the  strat- 
egic points  to  be  gained  by  the  change. 

Another  point  in  view  was  to  move  as  far  as  possible 
the  main  officials  away  from  the  ground  of  operation,  so 
that  personal  appeals  could  not  be  made  to  them,  that 
they  might  act  more  independent  of  any  clique  to  influ- 
ence them  in  their  special  favor  to  give  the  general 
manager  more  power  to  act  in  his  capacity,  unhampered 
by  the  board,  or  chairman  of  finance  committee,  as  in  the 
past  six  months  he  has  been  by  the  last  named;  also  to 
have  fewer  board  meetings,  cutting  the  expense  in  that 
direction  to  the  lowest  possible  figure.  These  are  some  of 
the  objects  in  bringing  the  meeting  to  Denver.  There 
never  was  any  intent  on  the  part  of  the  leading  members 
to  get  it  here  for  any  tyranical  or  illogical  purpose.  1 
kno\v  this  from  intimate  associations  with  the  people 
from  the  beginning  of  my  membership  up  to  the  present 
moment,  covering  over  four  years  of  time  that  we  have 
worked  together  to  build  up  the  colony. 


—  137- 

It  was  born  here,  and  all  its  sustenance  came  from 
here,  and  all  club  branches  were  brought  into  life  from 
here  and  nurtured  by  information  given  from  here.  We 
had  no  paid  secretary  for  eighteen  months  and  no  constant 
acting  one  for  eighteen  months  more,  and  it  devolved 
upon  C.  E,  Spiith  and  myself  to  do  the  main  part  of  the 
corresponding.  Does  any  reasonable  person  for  one  mo- 
ment suppose  that  we  are  going  to  stand  mute  and  idle 
and  see  some  adventurer  come  in  and  pull  to  pieces  all  we 
have  built  up  and  not  make  the  best  light  we  can  to  save 
it?  We  have  stood  shoulder  to  shoulder  and  fought  back 
all  comers  who  have  attempted  to  usurp  more  power  than 
they  were  entitled  to  hold,  and  use  it  to  the  detriment  of 
the  colony. 

It  is  for  this,  the  tiles  of  our  colony  paper  for  the 
past  six  months  will  show  the  ill-will  and  enmity  of  the 
would-be  ruler,  against  the  Denver  people  whom  he  can- 
not rule.  Nothing  is  too  mean  to  say  about  them.  His 
purpose  seems  to  be  to  drive  them  into  submission  or 
drive  them  out  of  the  colony  and  clear  the  way  for  his 
rule;  but  the  stubborn  tenacity  of  some  of  our  members 
has  held  the  club  together  in  spite  of  his  efforts  to  break 
it  up  through  his  second,  Martin  Locker. 

While  we  feel  proud  of  the  majority  that  could  see 
our  danger  and  stood  like  a  wall,  we  feel  sorry  for  the 
weak  vascillating  members  who  took  a  stand  against  us, 
not  manly  and  outspoken,  but  sneakingly.  Some  such 
greatly  surprised  me,  for  we  had  a  higher  standard  in 
our  estimate  of  them,  but  we  never  know  some  people 
until  we  summer  atid  winter  with  them,  and  go  through 
some  crucible  test  that  tinds  the  pure  metal  in  them. 
They  now  feel  ashamed,  judging  from  their  absence  from 
the  club  meeting,  since  some  of  them  went  to  the  annual 


—138— 


raeeting  and  saw  their  leader  overthrown  so  emphatically 
that  there  could  not  be  any  mistake  about  the  intent  of 
the  snub  he  got,  where  he  expected  applause.  8ome  peo- 
ple need  to  have  a  house  fall  on  them  to  make  them  take 
a  hint  of  what  may  happen  to  them. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

Our  colony  is  making  some  sad  history.  Mr.  Kister 
made  the  address,  as  president  of  the  board  at  the  annual 
meeting,  and  it  was  found  in  No.  47,  August  23rd,  of 
"The  Altrurian."  In  the  same  issue  you  may  read  the 
account  of  his  death  by  suicide,  on  the  13th  of  August. 
He  shot  himself.  The  poor  man  must  have  had  some 
deep  trouble  or  an  unsettled  mind  to  cause  him  to  commit 
such  a  rash  act.  It  is  very  hard  to  judge  of  his  feelings. 
Evidently  the  man's  mind  was  weak  or  very  much  unbal- 
anced, or  he  never  would  have  eulogized  Tarkoff  as  he  did 
or  tried  to  place  him  where  he  did  not  belong,  by  such 
praise  as  he  gave  him. 

Some  say  he  had  domestic  troubles,  others  that  he 
had  fears  of  starving.  If  the  latter,  what  will  become 
of  his  family  which  he  has  left  to  do  the  best  they  can 
without  him  as  their  main  stay.  No  one  in  the  colony 
has  any  fear  of  immediate  want  of  the  plain  necessities  of 
life.  Work  can  always  be  obtained  on  the  outside,  either 
on  the  farm,  in  the  mines,  the  town,  or  saw  mills.  No 
one  has  ever  come  near  starving  in  the  colony,  and  he  had 
great  confidence  in  Tarkoff's  ability  to  pilot  them  out  of 
all  difficulties,  which  is  the  reason  he  said  so  much  in 
fullsome  praise  of  him.  Peace  be  to  his  ashes,  and  a 
hope  that  the  continuity  of  life  may  be  better  to  him 
than  life  was  here. 


—139— 

Still  another  record  is  to  be  made.  Young  Joseph 
Kinder,  son  of  J.  Gr.  Kinder,  of  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  died 
of  typhoid  fever,  August  20th,  and  was  buried  at  Pinon. 
.His  mother  got  there  in  time  to  be  with  him  a  few  days 
before  he  died,  and  nursed  him  with  all  the  love  of  a  kind 
mother  to  the  end.  It  was  a  sad  parting  for  the  mother 
and  her  only  son,  who  was  so  kind  and  obedient  to  his 
parent's  every  wish,  and  so  painstaking  and  considerate 
for  his  sisters.  Though  he  was  younger  than  some  of 
them,  he  was  looked  upon  as  a  protector  and  companion 
in  all  pleasure  and  recreation.  Oh!  how  they  will  miss 
him,  when  they  think  of  future  plans  of  life. 

He  went  forth  as  a  young  giant,  to  hew  out  a  new 
home  in  the  mountains  and  prepare  the  way  for  father, 
mother  and  sisters  to  come  to  him.  The  tears  of  parting 
then,  were  not  in  sadness  as  now,  for  they  know  now  they 
will  never  see  his  human  form  again  as  they  kissed  it 
good-bye,  little  thinking  it  was  for  the  last  time  the  warm 
blood  would  give  energy  in  his  presence,  but,  poor  Joe  is 
not  dead.  He  has  only  made  an  early  change  from  this 
to  another  life  where  his  possibilities  are  enlarged  and  he 
can  go  on  preparing  the  way  for  those  whom  he  loves  and 
those  that  love  him.  The  future  home  is  supposed  to  be 
eternal,  not  subject  to  such  sudden  breaks  in  the  chain  of 
affection  as  in  the  material  life.  All  these  lessons  teach 
us  the  frailty  ot*  human  life,  and  that  we  must  not  put 
too  much  stress  or  hope  on  what  we  find  here. 

This  promising  young  man  was  old  for  his  years,  yet *a 
little  imprudence  cost  him  his  life.  He  felt  strong  and  vig- 
orous and  that  nothing  ordinary  could  harm  him.  We  are 
poor  judges  of  our  own  condition,  especially  when  young, 
when  our  blood  rushes  through  our  system,  feeding  every 
fiber    and  filling  the  mind   with  enthusiasm  that  knows 


—140— 

no  limit  and  we  do  many  imprudent  things  to  injure  the 
health  of  the  body  and  endanger  our  lives,  wearing  ont 
the  body  by  slow  degrees.  If  properly  cared  for,  it  is  a 
lasting  though  a  delicate  and  wonderfully  made  machine, 
which  we  live  in,  sensitized  to  a  wonderful  degree,  but 
capable  of  much  endurance.  Every  muscle  and  sinew  is 
strung  up  tight,  in  full  health.  Let  us  break  a  bone  in 
the  leg  and  see  how  hard  it  is  to  keep  the  muscles  from 
shortening  the  limb  by  contraction,  until  nature  can  mend 
the  bone  by  uniting  the  break,  as  a  plumber  would  a  joint 
in  a  lead  pipe  in  appearance,  making  it  stronger  by  more 
material,  a  wonderful  process. 

The  little  graveyard  at  Pinon  is  increasing  in  silent 
sleepers,  as  is  often  said  by  those  who  cannot  separate  the 
body  from  the  ego,  otherwise,  the  real  person  that  con- 
trolled it  intellectually. 

Mrs.  Susan  Dean  died,  December  27th,  1897,  aged 
seventy-eight.  This  was  our  first  death  and  burial  at 
Pinon.  Since  that,  M.  D.  and  Nannie  Bowen  buried 
their  infant  babe.  Then  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Priestly  lost  their 
little  boy,  then  the  mill  boiler  explosion  added  young 
C.  C.  Dunn  and  C.  E.  Whitney,  and  now,  C  H.  Kister, 
by  suicide,  and  last,  Joseph  Kinder,  by  typhoid  fever. 

About  this  time,  thirty-nine  years  ago,  I  helped  bury 
the  fifth  man  in  the  old  Capital  Hill  Cemetery,  in  Denver. 
It  was  the  first  regular  burying  ground  and  was  a  gift  of 
the  United  States  Government  to  the  people  and  is  now 
called  Congress  Park. 

About  1869,  the  Masonic  Fraternity  established  a 
burying  ground  in  JSorth  Denver,  near  the  present  High 
School,  but  it  was  abandoned  and  moved  to  Riverside 
Park,  in  part,  and  part  to  (Japital  Hill.  Then,  Fairmount 
was  laid  out,  eight  miles  East  and  South  of  Denver,  and 


141— 

is  filling  up  rapidly,  as  it  is  in  a  fine  location  and  is  more 
desirable  in  all  respects  than  either  of  the  others.  Mount 
Carmel,  a  Catholic  burial  ground,  is  on  the  North  of  the 
Golden  road. 

While  on  this  subject  of  death,  burials  and  cemeteries, 
I  wish  to  express  my  own  peculiar  views  on  such  matters^ 
which,  taken  as  a  w^iole,  differ  materially  and  definitely 
from  that  of  the  masses. 

First  of  all,  I  would  not  want  my  body  transported 
over  five  miles  to  be  buried  near  a  relative's  body,  and,  if 
I  could  have  triy  choice  as  well  as  not,  would  prefer  cre- 
mation, but  would  not  go  to  any  special  expense  to  have 
it  done,  as  it  matters  not  what  becomes  of  it,  as  long  as  it 
does  not  harm   the  living  by  decay  or  spreading  disease. 

It  is  custom  and  sentiment  that  causes  people  to 
nurse  the  dead  body,  after  life  has  parted  from  it.  They 
cannot  separate  the  body  from  the  principle  of  life,  so 
they  hold  to  it  in  the  best  possible  form  they  can  in 
various  ways.  This  is  all  useless,  from  any  standpoint,  as 
the  best  methods  ever  performed,  have  failed  to  preserve 
the  natural  appearance.  Hence,  it  is  a  failure.  Then 
again,  a  lifeless  body  is  not  good  to  look  upon  or  to 
remind  one  in  the  sense  of  love  or  affection,  approaching 
that  of  a  living  body,  filled  with  animation,  and  the  return 
of  affection  which  it  could  give. 

On  the  same  ground  I  am  opposed  to  expensive 
monuments  and  expensive  funerals,  which  rob  the  living 
of  what  they  might  have  for  their  care  and  comfort, 
and  if  I  can  have  any  control  over  my  own  body  by  my 
living  request,  I  will  have  as  little  fuss  and  feathers  as 
possible  over  my  body,  as  I  deem  it  a  useless  loss  of  time 
and  money. 


—  142— 

One  can  see  an  exhibition  at  the  Capitol  building  in 
the  Cliff  Dweller'8  department,  their  attempt  at  pre- 
serving the  body,  and  what  a  disgusting  sight  it  is.  The 
Egyptian  mummy  is  little  better  to  the  sight,  from 
descriptions  given  of  them  by  delvers  after  the  old  and 
curious  in  the  old  world.  We  can  work  with  the  laws  of 
nature  but  we  cannot  change  them  and  it  is  a  waste  of 
time  to  undertake  it. 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

The  Colorado  Co-operative  Colony  is  about  the  same 
age  as  Kuskin.  Starting  under  more  favorable  auspices, 
it  was  Ruskin's  good  fortune  to  start  a  paper  under  a  good 
manager,  in  the  proper  time  to  gain  a  large  subscription 
which  has  been  a  source  of  income  from  the  beginning. 
That  tidal  wave  of  sentiment,  then  sweeping  over  the 
country,  made  it  comparatively  easy  to  bring  a  liberal 
advocate  of  man's  riorhts  to  the  front. 

"The  Coming  Nation,"  found  its  way  into  thousands 
of  poor  homes,  and  all  inclined  to  socialistic  principles, 
and  helped  spread  its  wings  far  away  from  its  humble 
home,  on  Yellow  Creek,  in  Old  Tennessee,  far  beyond  what 
its  most  sanguine  projectors  expected.  It  was  so  great 
that  Wayland  thought,  as  his  interest  was  the  largest,  he 
might  as  well  have  it  all,  as  he  owned  the  plant  in  the 
beginning  and  only  had  credit  for  it  on  the  colony  books; 
but  others  objected  to  his  selfish  turn  of  mind,  and  put  up 
the  money  to  pay  Mr.  Wayland  off  and  put  in  some  one  of 
their  members  to  steer  the  ship  clear  of  snags. 

Mr.  Wayland  left  the  colony  and  started  a  paper 
similar  in  character,  at  Kansas  City.  He  did  some  strong 
soliciting  for  it  but  it  never  took  root  like  "The  Coming 
Nation,"  under  his  most  skillful  management,  as  he  had 


US- 
lost  caste  with  the  class  that  were  following  him  at  Kuskin? 
as    a    socialistic  advocate    who    was    willing    to    sacrifice 
principle  for  greed,  when  he  thought  he  could  take  advan- 
tage of  circumstances  to  use  it. 

He  thought  it  was  he  alone  that  gave  the  paper  its 
popularity.  In  this  he  found  his  mistake,  as  any  other 
man  will,  who  thinks  no  one  can  fill  his  place.  Had  he 
been  true  to  his  expressed  principles  and  been  satisfied  to 
do  his  work  as  he  commenced  it,  the  colony  at  Ruskin 
would  have  grown  much  faster  than  it  has  and  he  would 
have  prospered  with  it  and  retained  his  reputation  as  a 
writer  and  a  sincere  man. 

Ruskin  has  proven  its  ability  to  live  and  run  the 
paper  without  him.  It  has  had  its  trials  and  very  dark 
days,  no  doubt,  as  those  creeping,  hissing  serpents  find 
their  way  over  land  and  sea,  into  every  good-intentioned 
colony  that  ever  started,  to  swallow  it,  or  poison  it,  so  it 
would  die  from  stagnation  and  pollution,  if  such  were  al- 
lowed to  remain.  The  most  damnable  scapegraces  of 
creation  are  loud  advocates  of  humanitarianism  and  bro. 
therly  love  when  they  are  as  selfish  as  hell,  and  would 
crow  over  the  downfall  of  any  honest  man  whom  they 
cannot  wheedle  out  of  all  he  has  laid  up  for  old  age. 

I  have  always  believed  that  Ruskin  had  a  backbone 
of  good  people  who  had  pride  in  its  long  life  and  would 
always  stand  by  it,  when  the  test  came  to  try  them  in  the 
most  critical  way,  and  that  time  seems  about  to  come  now. 
The  forced  sale  has  taken  place  some  little  time  ago,  to 
satisfy  certain  demands  uiade  upon  them  by  dissatisfied 
members  and  creditors,  who  wanted  their  money  and,  I 
suppose,  got  it,  as  they  are  seeking  a  new  locality  and 
must  have  lost  all  real  estate  claims  at  Ruskin  to  satisfy 
these  cormorants,  that  hung  like  a  mill  stone  about  their 


—144— 

necks,  as  I  see  by  the  equality  paper,  "Freedom"  that  they 
saved  the  "Coming  Nation"  printing  plant  and  perhaps 
much  of  the  valuable  machinery  that  will  enable  them  to 
make  a  new  start,  wherever  they  may  locate. 

"Freedom"  says  three  thousand  dollars  will  buy  them 
eight  hundred  acres  of  ground,  about  seventy  small  frame 
houses  and  two  large  houses.  This  three  thousand  dollars 
is  additional  to  the  sum  they  have  on  hand  and  will  free 
them  of  all  debt.  The  location  is  in  Georgia,  sixty  miles 
from  the  coast,  at  a  place  called  Dnake,  near  the  Plajit 
railroad  and  has  its  own  station  and  store  building. 

It  would  be  a  good  plan,  before  they  move,  to  do 
some  close  screening  business  or  they  will  get  some  toads, 
tadpoles  and  gars,  that  will  load  any  net  and  be  worthless? 
and  guard  all  entrances  in  future,  against  these  web  footed 
globe  trotters  that  are  the  bane  of  the  colony.  They 
carry  all  diseases  that  are  fatal  to  harmony  and  good 
will  between  man  and  man.  The  ideal,  orthodox  Heaven 
would  not  satisfy  them.  They  would  spurn  it  as  trash, 
unworthy  of  notice. 

Bedbugs  are  always  found  in  the  timber  where  they 
go,  have  lived  there  for  centuries,  waiting  for  this  frowsy 
piece  of  humanity  to  come  along,  so  they  may  have  a 
feast.  1  can  imagine  how  the  bug  lived,  but  cannot  see 
how  the  man  kept  his  blood  in  circulation,  without  the 
bug.  There  is  so  much  affinity  between  the  two,  that 
they  would  come  together  like  two  drops  of  water  and  not 
be  separated  again.  When  you  find  one  the  other  will 
soon  appeq,r.  Move  one  of  the  human  kind  into  a  bran 
new  house,  built  of  stone,  isolated  from  any  other  house, 
and  very  soon  you  will  see  Mr,  Bug.  He  claims  his  res- 
idence where  his  friends  live.     They  are  one. 


—145— 

This  describes  the  sort  of  men  that  search  for  colonies 
to  find  fault  with  their  laws  and  acting  oflScials  and  pull 
them  down  to  their  level  till  it  cannot  breath  and  dies, 
and  the  fiend  hunts  another.  He  has  not  lost  any  time  or 
money;  of  the  one  he  is  barren,  of  the  other  he  has 
abundance  and  to  spare.  He  is  like  Mark  Twain's  Cayotte. 
He  travels  for  his  health. 

Some  good  people  came  to  Topolobampa  and  they 
went  away  when  they  found  how  they  had  been  played 
upon  by  A.  K.  Owen's  aerial  flights  of  imagination. 

He  had  a  paradise  on  earth  pictured  out  in  colored 
maps  and  plans  of  immense  public  buildings  and  pleasure 
grounds  iii  a  tropical  climate  where  everything  would 
grow,  good  land  and  all  the  surroundings  one  could  desire 
on  earth.  Great  plans  of  a  canal  and  railroad  were  talked 
about,  as  a  well-to-do  farmer  would  talk  of  putting  in  a 
crop  or  fencing  some  new  land. 

Owen  had  acquired  great  concessions  from  the  Mex- 
ican Government,  in  lands'and  privileges.  A  little  empire 
was  in  sight  and  every  man  could  be  an  emperor  or  every 
woman  an  empress.  Honors  were  even  and  easy  of 
acquirement.     The  allurement  was  inviting. 

Utopia  was  only  a  primmer  in  short  clothes  compared 
with  this  new  found  land  and  its  projectors,  who  got  on 
five  foot  stilts  at  one  stroke  of  effort.  He  traveled  and 
lived  as  all  such  mushrooms  do,  in  the  most  expensive 
style.  He  seldom  deigned  to  lend  his  august  presence  at 
the  seat  of  operation,  which  he  commanded  from  a  dis- 
tance. After  a  time  it  was  policy  to  do  so.  Kiting  a 
colony  on  wind  got  thin  and  the  people  grew  thin  in  flesh 
on  musty  corn  meal  and   similar  food  and   short  rations. 

The  enthusiastic  belief  of  Owen's  intent  and  his  great 


—146— 

ability  to  make  an  asylum  for  those  in  medium  circum- 
stances, begin  to  fade.  The  Kansas  contingents  who  mean 
business,  took  hold  of  the  ditch  and  completed  it,  furnish- 
ing the  money  and  labor  for  this  most  important  work, 
and  fully  expected  to  have  some  voice  in  the  just  distri- 
bution of  the  water.  In  this  they  were  sadly  disappointed. 
Mr.  A.  K.  Owen  was  the  power  supreme,  under  the 
Mexican  grant  which  he  claimed  to  hold,  and  they  must 
yield  to  him  or  be  driven  from  the  country  by  the  Mex- 
ican Government,  which,  anyone  knows,  had  been  imprac- 
ticable and  no  sense  of  justice  is  expected  from  it. 

The  Mexicans  are  corrupt  and  unreliable.  Ihe  high 
officials  can  be  fixed  for  any  purpose.  Owen  had  them  on 
his  side  and  no  appeal  above  the  espionage  system  of  the 
country.  Huffman,  Spencer  and  Wetherspoon,  in  their 
own  country,  could  have  made  it  very  warm  for  Owen. 

They  went  so  far  as  to  find  he  had  no  real  title  to 
anything,  that  he  could  transfer.  Then  those  who  sided 
with  him  accused  those  against  him,  of  being  usurpers 
and  made  them  appear  as  the  wreckers  of  a  good  scheme, 
for  selfish  purposes,  and  that  he  was  the  victim  of  mis- 
placed confidence,  which  he  could  not  help. 

This  conscienceless  scamp  should  have  dangled  at 
the  end  of  a  rope  for  playing  with  the  confidence  of  poor 
people.  Over  two  thousand  of  them  made  that  long, 
expensive  trip  by  rail  and  ocean  travel,  and  paid  a  heavy 
freight  and  revenue  on  what  they  were  instructed  to  bring 
with  them,  and  then  found  such  a  misrepresentation  of 
almost  everything  that  they  hoped  for.  Not  even  a  decent 
welcome  was  accorded  by  the  management.  In  fact  they 
were  treated  more  like  intruders  in  many  instances,  and 
the  most  indifferent  quarters  assigned  them,  hardly  fit 
for  an  animal  of  decent  habits. 


—147— 

Some  had  spent  their  all  to  get  there,  under  promises 
of  plenty  of  work  and  plenty  to  live  on.  A  favored  few 
had  all  that  was  good  while  others  suffered  for  the 
necessities  of  life,  and,  if  not  hampered  by  this  strange 
acting  management,  might  have  changed  conditions  and 
made  things  go,  independent  of  them  and  lived  there,  but 
they  were  in  a  foreign  land  and  had  no  pull  with  the 
officials  and  must  submit  or  get  away. 

iSome  dragged  themselves  by  land  to  Guymus,  through 
Mexican  settlements,  begging  something  to  eat,  and  finally 
to  the  United  States  and  their  homes,  in  the  most  meager 
condition.      We  have  these    facts    from   reliable  persons. 

Just  what  object  this  man  had  in  view,  after  his  first 
exploiting  which  seemed  so  fair  and  humane,  yet  very 
visionary,  it  would  be  hard  to  tell.  One  could  hardly  ex- 
pect such  indifference  and  lack  of  human  feeling  as  he 
exhibited  toward  a  suffering  people  whom  he  had  en- 
trapped into  his  scheme.  He  could  not  expect  success  to 
come  out  of  blocking  every  industry,  with  no  efficiency  in 
anything  they  did.  The  paper  plans  must  have  originated 
in  some  other  head  than  Owen's,  or  that  was  all  he  could 
do  and  fell  down  when  practical  things  became  necessary. 

The  bubble  burst  and  the  dream  of  wonders  ended. 
All  had  plenty  of  experience,  and  less  confidence  in  man- 
kind, and  a  first  lesson  in  co-operation  that  did  not 
co-operate. 

Owen  is  still  dreaming  of  the  lost  continent,  but  not 
of  the  people  he  deceived.  We  are  told  that  he  married 
some  money  and  spent  some  of  it  to  retrieve  some  claims 
of  value  he  held.  His  victims  are  scattered  to  the  four 
winds.  The  Colorado  Co-operative  Colony  has  some  ten 
or  twelve  of  the  members,  two  Smith  Brothers,  Geo.  B. 


—148— 

Ruggles,  0.  E.  Robinson,  Peterson,  Earnest  Eable,  J.  W. 
Bridenthal,  Wm.  Parter  Winters  and  (J.  E.  Whitney. 

Equality  Colony,  located  in  Skagat  County,  Wash- 
ington, was  the  foundling  of  the  8ocial  Democracy,  which 
was  going  to  take  State  by  State  under  its  reform  wing, 
and  they  selected  the  above  named  as  their  starting  point, 
this  being  a  young  Western  state.  It  was  thought  the 
leaven  would  take  in  the  whole  country,  but  the  boss 
baker,  Eugene  Y.  Debs,  got  on  a  strike  and  seems  to 
have  sunk  out  of  sight  and  hearing.  John  R.  Sovereign 
has  quit  the  lecture  field  and  is  editing  a  paper  at  Delane, 
and  the  bottom  seems  to  have  dropped  out  of  the  once 
promising  foundation  for  great  reform. 

Equality  grows  slow  and  is  not  getting  the  support 
promised  it  from  the  monthly  dues  fund,  that  should 
come  in  by  the  thousand,  if  members  were  as  numerous 
as  reported,  and  the  dues  so  low  that  almost  anyone 
should  be  able  to  pay  them.  Apathy  has  taken  the  place 
of  enthusiasm,  and  the  poorly  fed  horse  does  not  keep  his 
traces  tight. 

So  it  is  with  the  Equality  to-day.  Money  is  not 
coming  in,  and  there  is  no  way  of  calling  the  delinquents 
to  time.  Those  that  went  to  the  front,  with  all  their 
worldly  effects,  expecting  to  be  well  backed,  must  look  to 
their  own  good  management  for  future  support,  and  not 
to  a  still  barren  political  party,  abandoned  by  its  fathers 
to  be  buried  in  the  forests  of  Washington,  to  be  forgotten 
as  one  of  those  spasmodic  efforts  to  gain  power  for  its 
leaders. 

They  must  be  satisfied  to  govern  themselves,  much 
less  the  whole  state,  politically,  and,  if  they  can  harmonize 
and  work  together  co-operatively,  they  can  live  independ- 
ent of  any  party  or  leader  in  the  world.     But,  this  is  the 


—U9— 

hardest  proposition  to  solve,  of  all  that  is  known  in  the 
trials  of  co-operation;  that  innate,  pre-eminent,  ever 
present  self,  that  bobs  np  and  calls  for  the  lion's  share  of 
everything  in  sight.  What  can  you  do  with  it?  Argu- 
ment or  example  falls  flat;  failures  do  not  teach;  all  ambi- 
tion hangs  on.  ''How  much  can  I,  as  an  individual,  get  out 
of  it?"  Can  any  law  or  condition  change  this  predominant 
feeling  which  is  so  deeply  rooted  that  we  do  not  know  where 
or  how  to  cut  or  lessen  its  growth?  Must  the  unequal 
contest  go  on  forever,  until  the  world  is  loaded  with  the 
burden  of  the  helpless,  until  the  man  of  medium  class  is 
eaten  up  with  taxation  while  the  millionaire  can  make  his 
own  condition,  to  make  more  money  and  pay  less  taxes, 
through  this  manipulative  power? 

This  is  a  serious  question  that  will  not  be  downed  by 
the  mere  casting  aside  of  thought,  or  saying:  "I  can  live 
if  others  can,  and  I  will  look  out  for  myself  and  let  others 
do  the  same."  But  your  own  chances  are  being  limited. 
As  the  mill  grinds  out  its  grist,  yours  may  fall  short,  and, 
if  the  fiftieth  mile  post  is  reached  in  life,  this  limited 
chance  is  cut  by  the  limitation  of  the  useful  age,  that  you 
may  be  employed  by  others.  This  sentiment  is  growing 
and  cannot  be  denied.  Destitute  old  age  will  increase  in 
the  same  ratio  that  our  chances  to  gain  a  competency  are 
cut  short. 

Suppose  one  out  of  every  five  does  gain,  what  are  his 
chances  of  holding  in  comparison  to  those  of  losing  what 
he  has  gained?  The  great  uncertainty  of  value  in  any- 
thing he  may  place  his  gains  in,  is  a  lottery,  and  he  may 
draw  a  blank.  Lands,  stocks,  manufacturing,  even  money 
loaning  cannot  be  counted  on  as  perfectly  secure.  What 
may  be  good  security  to-day,  may  shrink  so  in  one  day  or 
one  year,  that  it  would  be  a  loss  to  take  it  and  perhaps  be 


—  150— 

the  starting  point  of  ruin,  wliich  one  could  not  head  off  by 
industry  or  frugality;  consequently,  your  independent,  go- 
as-you-please  plan  of  life  may  lay  you  high  and  dry  in 
poverty,  when  you  are  too  old  to  make  another  start. 

The  world  at  large  will  not  let  any  one  man  have  his 
own  way  very  long.  His  ability  may  steer  him  clear  of 
snags  set  for  him,  but  he  is  always  in  danger  of  being 
wrecked.  A  combination  of  effort  would  lessen  the  chance 
of  the  loss,  that  a  single  individual  would  have  to  meet, 
and  it  must  be  potent  to  every  thinking  man  and  woman 
that  the  time,  if  not  now,  is  near  at  hand,  when,  for  self 
defense  alone,  they  must  unite  and  stand  together,  ignoring 
their  own  differences  of  opinion  on  all  subjects  that 
would  destroy  harmony.  Men  do  not  quarrel  over  selfish, 
minor  things  when  they  are  on  a  sinking  ship.  They  aU 
man  the  pumps  alike.  There  is  no  difference  in  caste  or 
value  of  gold.  It  is  life  they  are  trying  to  save.  And  it 
will  be  freedom  and  the  necessities  of  life  for  which  they 
must  stand  together  now,  before  it  is  eternally  too  late. 

This  may  sound  like  a  useless  alarm  to  those  who 
happen  to  have  good  situations,  or  have  a  fixed  income, 
and  to  those  better  prepared  for  the  storm  that  is  gather- 
ing so  certainly  for  the  future. 

At  this  date  there  is  a  raised  price  on  all  the  necess- 
ities of  life,  without  an  equal  raise  to  the  producer.  There 
is  nothing  to  justify  this  advance,  no  special  demand 
beyond  the  supply.  This  is  an  unnatural  forcing  up  of 
values,  by  the  power  behind  the  throne,  called  Trusts. 
There  is  no  competing  power  to  meet  it  in  an  open  mar- 
ket, and  the  consumer  must  suffer  the  advance,  to  fill  the 
coffers  of  a  combination  that  throws  him  from  side  to  side 
like  a  shuttle-cock,  a  mere  piece  of  machinery,  a  tool, 
which  has  life  and  intelligence,   but  nothing  to  say  in  the 


—151— 

shaping  of  his  government,  or    what    his  own  condition 
shall  be. 

If  yon  stand  this  and  wait,  you  will  see  more  of  the 
same  heaped  upon  you.  The  octopus  is  reaching  out  as 
he  grows,  until  what  you  call  freedom,  will  be  absolute 
slavery. 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

September  11th,  1899. 
Since  wTiting  the  above,  I  iind  in  the  "Eocky  Moun- 
tain News"  of  this  date,  an  article  from  Senator  Washburn^ 
of  Minnesota,  headed,  "Menaced  by  the  Trust  Craze,"  and 
copied  from  the  "New  York  Tribune"  interview  w^ith 
him. 

He  says  the  present  situation,  to  the  good  citizen  and 
the  good  republican  and  man  who  loves  his  country,  is 
really  alarming,  and  is  more  largely  owing  to  the  rapid 
formation  of  what  is  called  the  Trust,  than  to  any  other 
agency.  First,  this  Trust  craze  has  changed  the  whole 
nature  of  doing  things.  He  says:  "When  I  was  a  young 
man,  I  am  now  sixty-eight,  I  had  the  world  before  me 
and  there  was  absolutely  a  fair  field  for  me.  Take  all  of 
our  most  successful  business  men  of  to-day  and  their  ex- 
periences were  like  mine.  They  entered  the  race  without 
a  handicap  and  their  grit  and  capacity  won.  Now  this 
building  up  of  trusts  puts  a  stop  to  fair  and  equal  oppor- 
tunities for  the  young  men  of  to-day.  The  young  man  out 
of  college  has  no  opportunity,  as  a  rule.  He  cannot  begin 
business  on  his  own  account  against  organized  capital. 
He  must  join  the  procession.  He  must  content  himself 
with  being  a  clerk,  and  the  chances  are  that  too  many  of 
his  class  are  in  the  field.  This  makes  the  situation  a 
serious  one,  and  I  am  sorry  for  the  young  man  of  to-day. 


—152— 

I've  studied  the  situation  and  am  sure  of  what  I  am  say- 
ing. The  present  industrial  situation  amounts  almost  to 
a  craze  for  trusts.  There  is  hardly  anything  in  the  indus- 
trial line  that  has  not  been  tackled  by  the  promoters  of 
trusts." 

This  comes  from  a  man  of  large  public  experience 
and  a  life  long  republican  who  can  see  through  the  mist 
of  his  own  party  and  its  danger  of  furthering  trusts,  in  a 
call  made  for  a  convention,  to  meet  in  Chicago,  to  see 
what  may  be  done  to  stop  this  avalanche. 

Yery  few  republican  names  appear  as  delegates  or 
speakers,  while  democrats  and  populists  are  largely  rep- 
resented. This  is  a  plain  indication  where  the  sympathy 
lies,  and  it  may  have  the  effect  of  changing  the  adminis- 
tration at  the  next  election,  and  some  of  the  leaders  see 
what  it  may  do  if  the  people  can  be  awakened  to  the  dan- 
ger in  time. 

At  one  time  lyceums  and  schools  had  prominent 
mottoes  stating  that  "knowledge  is  power,"  posted  in  their 
rooms,  but  times  and  signs  have  changed.  Now  gold  is 
power.  And  its  power  was  shown  so  boldly  at  the  last 
presidential  election,  that  several  states  counted  more 
votes  for  McKinley  than  they  had  voters,  and  no  contest 
was  made.  The  power  of  millions  in  Mark  Hanna's  hands 
to  elect  his  mortgagee  president,  buried  knowledge  and 
decency  so  deep  that  not  a  sound  came  back,  of  the 
corrupt  methods  used  to  make  a  bankrupt  a  president, 
who  has  blundered  into  imperialism  to  serve  these  pluto- 
cratic friends,  who  want  more  territory  in  which  to  spread 
their  damnable  schemes  of  dominance,  and  again  he  may 
be  counted  in  to  do  their  work.  And  yon,  the  working 
man,  will  help  tie  the  hands  of  others  less  helpless  than 
yourselves,  for  partyism,  or  for  a  price  for  your  vote. 


— 153  - 

Oh,  shame  upon  such  half  manhood,  that  will  be 
blinded  by  partyism,  or  a  few  glittering  dollars!  You 
deserve  to  be  serfs  and  beggars,  crying  for  a  mess  of  pot- 
tage to  sustain  your  worthless  lives.  Is  this  your  vaunted 
independence,  with  twenty-five  cents  worth  of  clothes,  and 
fifty  cents  worth  of  tobacco  and  an  empty  stomach,  and  a 
family  on  your  hands  for  the  public  to  support?  You  are 
a  drifting  vagabond  without  home  or  hope,  cursing  all 
who  are  more  thrifty  and  honest  than  yourself,  and  would 
cast  discredit  on  all  motives  higher  than  your  own. 

No  wonder  we  have  the  professional  tramp,  who 
wanders  from  one  section  of  our  country  to  another,  sleep- 
ing in  barns  and  on  haystacks,  begging  or  stealing  food 
and  rags,  that  cover  his  worthless  body.  He  is  too 
cowardly  and  lazy  to  be  a  highway  robber.  His  aimless 
life  has  no  adventure,  only  that  he  is  kicked  out  of  a 
freight  train  when  stealing  a  ride. 

In  to-day's  paper,  September  12th,  1899,  I  read  of 
three  young  boys  trying  to  w^reek  the  Lakewood  and  Golden 
train,  so  they  may  get  sentenced  to  the  reform  school. 
This  is  their  second  attempt  and  they  make  an  open 
declaration  that  they  will  do  worse  until  they  are  sen- 
tenced. All  these  boys  have  parents  and  should  have 
homes  more  desirable  than  a  reform  school  could  ever  be 
to  them.  In  fact  a  reform  school  should  shadow  a  young 
boy  or  man  with  disgrace,  never  to  be  forgotten,  both  to 
himself  and  his  parents,  but  it  shows  the  drift  of  senti- 
ment and  depravity  of  which  there  must  be  some  primary 
cause,  that  it  sets  so  lightly  in  the  minds  of  the  people 
when  it  is  a  very  serious  question  for  their  consideration. 

In  our  opinion  it  is  the  reckless  loose  marriage  cus- 
tom allowed,  any  trifling  Jack  that  can  find  some  Jenny 
that  will  marry  him.      She  may  be  good,  bad  or  indifferent 


—154-^ 

in  human  qualities.  If  she  be  good,  she  may  mould  the 
progeny  into  fairly  good  citizens,  in  spite  of  a  father  that 
should  stop  at  his  own  generation  and  never  claim  to  be 
the  sire  of  anything. 

But  how  do  we  find  it  in  nature?  The  most  nauseous 
weeds  seed  themselves  a  million  times  a  year,  and  so  it 
is  with  these  worthless  human  weeds.  Children  come 
galore,  to  them,  and  they  pride  themselves  in  this  multi- 
tude of  products  that  some  one  must  support,  either  by 
charity,  or  taxation  in  homes  of  correction,  jails  or  pen- 
itentiaries. The  unnatural  fathers  and  often  the  mothers, 
are  indifferent. 

Then,  there  is  the  genteel  half-grade,  would-be 
somebodies  who  live  in  boarding  houses,  where  children 
never  learn  good  manners,  and  get  puffed  up  over  nothing 
to  do,  fine  clothes  and  notice  paid  by  older  people,  until 
they  are  so  haughty  and  disagreeable  that  they  have  the 
world  soured  to  themselves  in  childhood,  and  must  not  be 
crossed  or  some  one  would  be  killed. 

Then  come  the  rich,  that  never  know  their  own  as 
other  people  do.  From  birth  to  maturity,  they  are  in  the 
hands  of  a  nurse  and  governess,  that  have  no  natural 
interest,  only  to  please  and  hold  the  place  for  salary. 
Schools  and  colleges  do  the  finishing,  and  these  favored 
sons  and  daughters  hardly  know  they  have  a  father  and 
mother,  only  in  the  sense  of  money  and  all  their  wants 
supplied.  Cold  business  takes  the  father's  time,  and  the 
mother  must  fill  the  place  in  society,  beconung  a  rich 
man's  wife,  or  fall  out  of  sight  and  live  as  a  recluse. 

None  of  these  class  conditions  are  in  any  way  calcu- 
lated to  improve  present  or  future  generations,  and  they 
are  the  greater  percentage,  and  must  have  their  effect 
upon  the  lesser  percent,  that  do  all  they  can  to  rear  good 


—155— 

and  useful  children,  and  it  is  almost  disheartening  to 
them  in  their  trials  to  counteract  this  willful,  hell  bound 
majority,  that  has  no  regard  for  anything  but  to  live  and 
have  a.  good  time  in  their  way,  whether  it  be  to  make 
money,  travel,  get  drunk,  smoke  and  chew  tobacco,  go  to 
prize  fights,  shows  and  horse  races.  It  is  all  one,  so  long 
as  they  enjoy  themselves. 

To  the  middle  class  comes  the  heartaches  and  the 
sleepless  nights  over  the  wayward  boy  or  girl  that  goes 
wrong.  The  rich  can  send  them  far  away  and  hide  the 
disgrace  that  might  be  heaped  upon  them  at  home  among 
their  friends.  The  middle  class  are  not  usually  able  to  do 
this  and  they  must  bear  the  burden  of  whatever  may 
come  and  are  not  to  be  blamed  only  in  the  matter  of  over- 
indulgence to  their  children,  mistaking  it  for  kindness 
when  it  is  really  a    life-long  harm  that  is  seldom  erased. 

"Oh,  we  want  our  children  to  have  a  good  time  while 
they  are  young  and  not  know  any  disappointment,"  some 
say.  This  is  a  great  error.  The  sooner  we  learn  there 
are  hard  things  to  meet,  the  better,  as  we  retain  all  our 
early  lessons  much  better  than  those  later  on  in  life,  and 
we  are  so  much  better  equipped  to  do  battle  and  meet 
emergencies  than  if  made  to  believe  that  this  world  was 
made  for  our  special  beneiit.  We  must  adjust  ourselves 
to  our  surroundings  sooner  or  later,  or  fare  badly.  The 
world  was  made  and  populated  long  before  we  came  into 
it,  and  we,  as  individuals,  are  a  very  small  figure  in   it. 

Our  nearest  friends  and  blood  relations  will  not  long 
tolerate  indulgences  to  those  that  demand  them,  without 
some  return.  If  you  happen  to  be  born  with  a  silver 
spoon  in  your  mouth,  and  do  not  lose  it,  you  have  some 
advantage  over  the  less  fortunate,  but  this  is  no  child's 
play  world.     Old,  solid,  hard    realities  will   bob  up  and 


-   156— 

take  the  spoon  of  luxury  away  from  us,  and  it  is  worse 
than  useless  to  sit  down  and  cry  about  it.  You  only  get 
the  jeers  and  contempt  of  the  average  man  or  woman, 
that  sees  the  practical  side  of  life  as  one  of  aggression 
that  will  force  its  way  through  foul  or  fair  weather. 

''Every  tub  stands  on  its  own  bottom,"  is  a  trite  old 
saying  that  has  much  solid  truth  in  it.  Each  individual 
is  separate  from  every  other  individual,  and  must  stand  or 
fall  as  such,  here  and  hereafter,  for  all  eternity.  If  this 
human  fabric  is  worth  having,  we  must  spin  our  own 
cocoon.  No  other  worm  can  doit  for  us.  No  inheritance 
can  avail  us  in  this  particular.  Good  blood  is  all  right 
to  start  with,  but  it  will  degenerate  and  fall  short  of  its 
ancestry  if  not  kept  up  to  the  standard,  by  the  des- 
cendents,  as  trustees  of  a  precious  gift  that  all  cannot 
bestow. 

CHAPTER  XXIY. 

September  15th,  1899. 
Getting  back  to  colony  business  again,  we  iind  a 
change  of  editors,  of  "The  Altrurian."  Moses  Franklin 
appears  as  editor,  in  the  issue  of  the  6th  of  this  month, 
F.  0.  Tawney  having  resigned.  In  some  respects  this  is 
a  change  for  the  better.  It  could  hardly  be  for  the  worse, 
but,  saying  the  least,  it  is  not  in  good  hands,  and  will  be 
subservient  to  the  same  will  that  has  had  control  for  some 
time  past,  and  the  non-issue  would  have  been  better  for 
all  concerned  in  the  real  life  and  welfare  of  the  colony,  as 
in  its  present  control  it  is,  and  has  been,  misleading  in  its 
garbled  reports  of  things  to  the  outside  stockholders,  and 
has  led  and  will  lead  them  to  think  the  management  is  all 
right,  if  not  handicapped  by  certain  old  members,  that 
are  doing  all  they  can  to  tear  down  that  which  they  have 


—157— 

labored  hardest  to  build  up,  because  they  cannot  now  con- 
trol colony  affairs,  and  they  know  all  they  say  in  this 
direction  is  as  false  as  hell  itself. 

The  plain  facts  are  these;  old  wheel  horses  are  not 
using  their  former  energy  to  push  the  colony  as  they  once 
did,  for  the  very  good  reason  that  they  see  it  drifting 
from  its  former  intent  into  socialism,  free-loveism,  pau- 
perism, boyis'm,  and,  as  proof,  one  child  is  born  without  a 
father,  and  another  is  coming,  and  the  leading  articles  in 
the  paper  for  some  time  past,  show  the  tendency  toward 
extreme  socialism  and  boyish  haggling  at  all  that  did  not 
agree  with  them  in  all  things.  Now  they  are  in  a 
dilemma  and  some  one  is  to  blame  for  it,  and  they  turn 
all  things  wrong,  to  the  same  source;  the  old  ones. 

F.  C.  Gibbs,  general  manager,  has  sent  in  his  report 
to  outside  members  of  the  board,  for  the  month  of  August, 
showing  an  indebtedness  of  over  seventeen  hundred  dol- 
lars, and  an  income  for  the  same  month,  of  one  hundred 
and  eighty  dollars  on  stock  and  water,  only  ninety  coming 
from  the  outside,  six  hundred  dollars  from  comissary  and 
all  other  sources,  and  about  ten  per  cent,  protit  on  this 
would  leave  only  sixty  dollars,  and  a  total  of  two  hundred 
and  forty  dollars,  being  the  lowest  amount  received  for 
any  month  in  the  three  years. 

Is  this  a  good  sign  that  the  management  is  satis- 
factory and  that  the  members  are  satisfied  with  it?  Let 
Mr.  Tarkoff  stand  up  and  say  what  he  thinks  is  the  matter. 
In  my  opinion,  it  is  these  JJenver  fellows  that  have  been 
writing  letters  to  break  up  the  colony,  so  they  can  buy  it 
up  and  make  a  big  speculation.  Tarkoff  will  show  them 
how  mistaken  they  will  be. 

Is  it  natural  or  honest  for  us  to  put  in  our  money  and 
induce  others  to  join,  and  pay  money  in,  to  be  used  up 


—158— 

and  fooled  away  by  a  lot  of  bunglers  and  indigent  sap- 
suckers  that  fail  to  make  a  living  on  the  outside,  and  drive 
away  from  the  work,  all  the  best  men  on  it?  We  made 
gentle  and  strong  protests,  until  we  were  ruled  out  of  any 
hearing,  before  the  board  or  through  the  paper,  then  had 
to  bear  all  the  hints  and  insults  that  ill  temper  could  heap 
upon  us.  Is  it  reasonable  that  we  should  be  as  meek  as 
mice  under  such  treatment,  and  work  for  the  colony  as 
though  all  was  well?     Not  much. 

We  have  seen  the  principal  of  our  hard  worked-up 
home  basis,  absorbed  by  others  in  mistakes  and  wilfully 
bad  management,  knowing  what  would  be  the  iinal  result. 
Can  any  one  who  has  any  fairness  in  his  composition, 
blame  them?  I  am  recording  these  facts  as  a  matter  of 
history,  so  those  who  may  read,  what  is  now  suppressed,  in 
the  future,  in  this  little  book,  and  know  the  inside  facts. 
Absolute  fairness  and  seeming  fairness,  are  very  different 
propositions.  We  have  had  much  of  the  latter  and  little 
of  the  former,  and  this  is  why  we  want  to  be  understood. 

The  call  for  a  stockholders'  meeting,  to  be  held  in 
Denver,  September  29th,  is  fast  approaching,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  changing  some  of  the  by-laws  and  looking  the 
ground  over.  There  are  many  things  that  should  be  done, 
that  cannot  be  done  legitimately,  as  they  are  not  in  the 
advertised  call  or  thirty  day  notice  to  the  stockholders. 

The  most  important  is  the  previous  clause  of  adding 
a  gradual  quarterly  payment  of  five  dollars  to  the  one 
hundred  dollar  membership  share.  This  was  a  sad  mistake, 
made  over  two  years  ago,  and  started  at  ten  dollars  quar- 
terly and  subsequently  cut  to  live  dollars  as  a  compromise 
and  has  run  up  to  eighty  dollars  and  will  go  on  until  it 
reaches  one  hundred,  making  a  total  of  two  hundred  dol- 
lars, that  aill  new  members  must  pay,  if  they  enter  our 


-159- 

holy  band,  and  it  practically  shuts  the  door  against  any 
that  would  seek  us,  in  our  stand-still  condition. 

Had  we  a  compact  business  proposition  to  show  for 
our  four  years'  work,  then  it  might  be  possible  to  gain  a 
class  that  would  not  let  one  hundred  dollars  stand  in  the 
way  of  a  good  home  proposition.  On  the  contrary,  we 
must  tell  them  that  six  months  have  passed  and  no  work 
is  done  on  the  ditch,  direct.  We  must  tell  them  that 
there  are  two  factions,  and  a  likely  third.  We  must  tell 
them  of  over  one  hundred  delinquents,  that  cannot,  or 
will  not,  pay  on  their  stock,^  and  others  following  closely 
in  their  wake.  This  is  not  a  very  encouraging  outlook. 
It  is  said  there  are  none  so  blind  as  those  that  will  not  see. 
Whether  this  is  applicable  to  the  present  ruling  power  or 
not,  as  a  whole,  is  not  freely  understood. 

Light  travels  with  great  rapidity,  and  reaches  some 
very  dark  places  through  very  small  crevices,  and  we  have 
hoped  it  would  penetrate  some  skulls  and  awaken  a  sen- 
sitive brain  and  nerve,  that  w^ould  act  in  harmony  with 
common  sense,  and  kill  that  pessimistic  dog-in-the-manger 
disposition  that  holds  the  colony  in  obeyance  to  suspicion 
and  doubt  of  honesty. 

At  this  coming  meeting  we  hope  there  will  be  some 
very  positive  changes  for  a  better"  understanding  of  our 
condition,  and  some  action  taken  to  regain  the  loss  of  con- 
tidence  so  we  may  take  a  new  hold  and  all  pull  together. 
It  is  an  undoubted  fact,  that  the  Denver  people  have  been 
able  to  do  this  rebuilding-,  with  the  assistance  of  other 
outside  members.  They  did  the  necessary  work  and  fur- 
nished their  share  of  the  working  funds,  and  considerable 
extra  donations  to  fill  in  needed  calls  upon  their  liberality, 
and  they  still  stand  ready  to  do  all  in  their  power,  when 
things  are  put  in   proper   shape   and    when   they  can   be 


—160— 

treated  as  an  integral  part  of  this  institution,  and  not  as 
wreckers  and  bandits  ready  to  devour  it,  as  has  appeared 
in  the  colony  paper  for  six  months  past,  and  no  recourse 
left  them  except  to  publish  their  own  paper,  and  send  it 
free  to  those  that  read  the  colony  paper.  They  were 
nearly  goaded  to  the  point  of  doing  this  at  one  time. 
But  for  making  the  breach  wider,  it  would  have  been 
done.  We  suffered  for  colony  good,  and  waited  to  see 
results  of  the  annual  election  and  to  see  if  there  was  any 
sense  of  justice  left  in  store  for  us,  in  the  minds  of  those 
on  neutral  ground. 

A  gleam  of  hope  is  before  us,  but  it  may  be  cast 
aside  and  trodden  in  the  dust,  through  ill  will  or  ignorance 
of  the  true  status.  It  will  kill  our  enterprise  so  dead  that 
Gabriel's  tooter  will  never  waken  the  choked-to-death 
corpse,  and  the  vulture  will  hover  about  Pinon  to  pick 
the  bones  bare  of  all  that  is  left  of  the  Colorado  Co-oper- 
ative Colony.  They  who  have  done  the  least  will  claim 
the  most,  and  we  could  name  them  now,  if  it  could  do 
any  good.  But  let  us  wait  and  see  how  many  will  stand 
the  test  of  manhood,  and  will  say  a  good  cause  shall  not 
die,  to  profit  a  few  rogues. 

We  have  enough  of  stern  stuff,  if  they  could  be  here 
long  enough  to  acquaint  themselves  of  our  real  situation, 
and  see  what  was  needed  for  the  sick  patient,  who  has 
had  quack  doctors  digging  into  his  vitals  so  long  that  he 
cannot  stand  much  more  maltreatment.  But  distance 
and  cost  forbids  their  coming,  and  they  send  proxies  to 
those  that  they  believe  will  use  them  for  the  best,  and 
this  is  only  chancing  colony  interest,  and  this  is  our  pres- 
ent trouble,  too  much  hap-hazard  election  of  incompe- 
tents in  responsible  places,  that  should  be  tilled  with  our 
best  material  instead  of  the  poorest. 


161— 


CHAPTER  XXY. 


INDIFFERENCE  TO  OTHERS. 

Nearly  all  my  life,  I  have  seen  this  characteristic  of 
indifference  that  has  more  or  less  disgusted  me  with  ray 
people.  With  al)  their  good  and  noble  qualities,  which  I 
greatly  cherish,  above  all  other  people.  This  is  one  of 
their  glaring  faults,  that  stands  out  so  plain,  that  no  one 
can  be  mistaken  about  it.  You  can  see  it  on  the  streets 
of  cities  and  on  the  country  roads,  at  church,  opera  and 
all  public  gatherings.  If  you  are  driving  and  some  one 
is  going  the  same  way,  he  takes  delight  in  passing  you 
and  staying  just  far  enough  ahead  to  throw  dust  in  your 
face,  and,  if  he  could  hold  you  back  by  having  a  faster 
team,  he  invariably  does  it.  He  may  never  have  seen  or 
heard  of  you  before.  In  cities,  any  driver  will  splatter 
the  mud  on  you  if  he  can,  or  make  you  hurry  up  at  the 
crossing  and  if  he  can  get  in  front  of  you,  he  drives 
slower  and  makes  you  wait  his  leisure.. 

I  have  experienced  this  a  thousand  times  at  least,  my- 
self, and  have  it  from  many  others,  and  every  now  and 
then,  some  old  man,  woman  or  child  is  run  over  and 
killed  or  crippled.  These  are  common  occurrences,  all 
because  of  a  reckless  indifference  to  others'  rights. 

Thousands  of  ornamental  shade  trees  have  been 
barked,  disfigured  and  killed,  by  some  vandal  hitching  his 
unchecked  horse  to  the  tree,  when  ar  hitching  post  with  a 
ring  on,  to  hitch  to,  is  at  hand. 

Fathers  and  mothers  will  see  their  dear  children 
mutilate  houses,  shrubbery,  flowers  or  fruit,  and  only  give 


—162— 

them  a  mild  reproval,  if  any  at  all,  especially  if  the  prop- 
erty belongs  to  some  one  else,  and  does  not  cost  them  any 
sorrow.  Some  over-indulgent  mothers,  will  allow  their 
children  to  mar  valuable  furniture,  spoil  books  and  albums 
by  rough  liandling,  and  the  owner  must  grin  and  bear 
this  outrage,  to  save  the  friendship  of  this  blind,  indiffer- 
ent poddle-head,  who  don't  care  for  anyone,  but  she  is 
Mrs.  So-and-So,  and  one  must  suffer  this  indignity. 

No  one  should  be  tolerated  or  respected,  who  does 
not  respect  the  rights  and  feelings  of  others.  No  position 
or  name  gives  them  any  right  to  impose  upon  you  or  me. 
We  are  all  by  nature  equal  in  our  personal  rights. 

Ingratitude  is  a  part  of  indifference.  How  often  you 
may  see  a  man  give  his  seat  in  a  crowded  street  car,  to  a 
woman,  and  she  will  take  it  as  her  right  and  never  give 
even  a  look  of  thanks,  though  the  man  standing  might  be 
old  enough  to  be  this  ungrateful  woman's  grandfather, 
and  I  have  seen  men  so  borish,  that  they  will  occupy  two 
seats  and  see  other  people  with  equal  rights,  standing  up. 

In  American  cities,  it  is  no  uncommon  thing  to  see 
two,  three  or  four  men  or  women  occupying  the  middle  of 
the  sidewalk,  gossiping,  and  making  hundreds  of  people 
go  around  them,  while,  if  they  had  any  thought  of  com- 
mon rights,  they  would  move  one  or  two  steps  out  of  the 
way.  A  Chinaman  has  more  decency.  If  there  were 
thousands  of  them  on  the  sidewalk,  they  would  make  way 
for  anyone  to  pass  through  without  any  trouble,  while  the 
finely  dressed   American  animal  would   stand  stalk  still. 

This  same  half  bred  animal  will  puff  his  disagreeable 
tobacco  smoke  into  your  face  with  as  much  indifference  as 
if  you  were  a  dog  and  he  your  master.  A  good  dose  of 
green  pick  handle  is  all  that  would  ever  wake  him  up  to 
a  realization  that  he  is  not  the  lord  of  creation. 


—163— 

This  brutalism  of  kindred  kinds  runs  through  all 
classes  of  people.  I  was  told  by  different  persons  who  had 
attended  festivals  in  Washington,  given  by  members  of 
the  cabinet  and  different  ones  in  high  positions,  that  it 
was  a  regular  scramble,  bereft  of  any  decorum  or  civility, 
that  you  might  expect  from  any  well  bred  middle  class  of 
people. 

Some  years  ago,  a  certain  minister  married  a  rich 
widow  in  Denver,  and  a  large  number  were  invited  and 
accepted  the  invitation  to  be  present  at  the  bride's  home. 
The  refreshments  were  served  in  a  large,  floored  tent  in 
the  yard,  and  the  piggish  desire  to  be  first  at  the  table 
resulted  in  some  ladies  nearly  having  their  clothes  torn 
from  their  bodies.  At  an  Irish  wake  one  would  not  be 
surprised  at  such  conduct,  but  when  seen  by  the  light 
of  education  there  seems  to  be  a  lack  of  something,  in  our 
loose,  self-sufficient  way  of  bluffing  the  world. 

There  is  one  cause  which  we  can  see,  tends  to  this 
growing  propensity,  and  it  starts  with  our  indulgence  to 
children.  They  are  always  in  the  foreground,  from  the 
time  "Tootsy"  can  crow,  on  up.  They  must  have  all  the 
attention  and  be  first  in  everything.  Old  age,  middle 
age,  nor  any  age  that  they  need  not  fear  brute  force  from? 
has  any  respect  shown  them.  This  is  the  up-to-date  ten- 
dency. If  you  tell  a  parent  that  you  saw  his  boy  hurl  a  rock 
through  your  window,  he  will  tell  you,  nine  times  out  of 
ten,  that  you  must  have  been  mistaken.  His  boy  never 
lied  and  he  denied  it  and  none  of  the  other  boys  said  he 
did,  and  that  is  positive  proof  of  his  innocence,  and  the 
parent  does  not  want  to  pay  damages  and  would  rather 
make  a  liar  out  of  his  son  than  to  pay  a  dollar  to  make  a 
decent  man  of  him,  but,  later  on  in  life,  he  may  pay 
thousands,  if  he  can,  to  save  his  grown   up  boy  from  the 


—164— 

penitentiary,  or  some  worse  punishment,  that  would  dis- 
grace his  whole  family   for  life. 

I  never  was  an  advocate  of  beating  any  child  that 
needed  proper  punishment,  though  some  seem  to  need 
more  than  talk,  but  if  parents  would  devote  more  time  in 
giving  advice  and  not  threaten  and  scold  so  much  as  some 
do,  children  would  learn  to  love  and  obey.  Be  positive 
and  truthful  yourself,  and  you  will  win  the  respect  of 
your  children  and  be  admired  by  all  of  your  friends,  for 
your  good  judgment. 

The  family  circle,  with  harmony  between  its  members, 
is  the  most  pleasant  thought  in  the  human  breast.  The 
well  behaved  child  is  a  luxury  and  a  joy  forever,  while 
the  sour,  spoiled  one,  no  matter  how  good  looking,  gives 
off  a  ruffling  distaste  that  harrows  up  all  the  meaner  feel- 
ings, that  are  never  forgotten. 

I  have  one  particular  case  in  my  mind,  of  such  a 
child,  that  grew  to  be  a  line  looking  young  woman  and 
became  quite  noted  as  an  elocutionist,  and,  in  giving 
public  entertainments,  received  well  merited  applause, 
which  she  should  have,  for  her  talent,  yet  T,  as  one  of 
them,  could  not  erase  from  my  memory,  the  spoiled  child 
of  former  years,  that  made  life  miserable  for  all  who 
came  in  contact  with  her. 

The  risk  of  going  wrong  is  so  much  greater  where  one 
starts  young,  to  have  one's  own  way,  against  advice  too 
softly  given  to  have  any  effect  upon  them.  Those  who 
bring  children  into  the  world,  are  the  proper  ones  to  study 
their  disposition,  and  learn  the  needed  application  to 
direct  them  in  the  right  channel.  If  they  are  not  capable 
they  should  not  be  parents.  They  have  no  right  to  afflict 
the  world  to  bear  their  burdens  of  bad  blood  and  neglect 
or  inability    to    direct    the    right  course.     Here  again,  is 


—165— 

manifest  that  indifference  that  is  the  rule  and  not  the 
exception,  that  the  world  owes  me  and  mine  a  living,  and 
must  yield  it  to  us. 

This  feeling  is  a  growing  menace  to  the  people  who 
are  willing  to  do  their  duty,  as  one  cog  in  a  wheel  that 
turns  the  affairs  of  life.  This  is  Carnival  week  in  Denver, 
commencing  September  25th,  yesterday.  Last  night  the 
hoodlum  element  was  let  loose.  Gangs  of  young  men, 
dressed  in  High  School  uniform,  being  the  principals,  took 
possession  of  the  most  central  streets  in  the  city,  held 
hands  and  surrounded  young  girls,  strangers  to  them,  and 
insulted  and  abused  them  in  a  scandalous  manner,  until 
the  police  got  moved  to  their  duty  to  arrest  them,  and  had 
to  draw  pistols  to  cowe  these  respectable  brutes,  that  the 
tax  payer  must  educate,  to  insult  their  daughters. 

The  dealers  in  festival  nuisances  have  found  a  new 
one,  fine  bits  of  colored  paper.  These  brutes  attempted 
to  force  this  stuff  into  the  throats  of  females,  irrespective 
of  ao-e  or  character.  Two  young  boys,  one  hanging  to  his 
loving,  indulgent  mother,  attempted  to  throw  the  stuff  in 
my  face,  so  it  would  stick  in  my  rather  long  whiskers,  but 
I  resented  the  impudence  with  my  cane  on  their  shins. 
Only  a  few  hours  previous,  fifty  young  smart  alecks  were 
arrested  for  loud  actions  and  all  paid  lines  before  to-day's 
city  court.  This  publicity  did  touch  some  of  their  parents 
who  claimed  that  their  boys  were  led  into  this  by  others, 
but  the  boys  were  questioned  by  the  justice  and  acknowl- 
edged that  they  were  guilty  as  charged  by  the  police,  who 
arrested  them.  This  clinched  their  guilt,  much  to  the 
chagrin  of  their  parents,  who  expected  they  would  lie  out 
of  it,  and  save  the  lines  of  five  dollars  and  cost. 

Money  does  cut  closer  to  the  heart  strings  than  any 
other    consideration.     Obliquity    to    the    moral    law    and 


—166— 

justice  are  small  things  as  compared  with  liberty  to  do  as 
you  please,  at  some  one's  loss.  This,  I  am  sorry  to  say  is 
an  American  trait  of  character  with  now  and  then  an  ex- 
ception that  stands  for  the  right  under  all  circumstances 
that  cover  the  ground  of  honor  in  its  highest  sense.  This 
is  the  redeeming  salt  that  saves,  in  a  measure,  the 
indifferent  plunger. 


CHAPTER  XXYL 

The  stockholders'  meeting  of  the  Colorado  Co-oper- 
ative Colony  met  September  29th,  in  Denver,  according 
to  call  by  the  board.  There  was  present  a  good  repre- 
sentation from  Pinon  and  three  of  the  board  of  directors, 
namely;  Douglas,  Gibbs  and  Bramier  from  the  front,  and 
Charles  Gabriel  and  Snyder,  of  Denver. 

The  meeting  was  organized,  placing  Mr.  Gabriel  in 
the  chair,  and  Mr.  Franklin  as  secretary.  All  the  sug- 
gested changes  in  the  by-laws  were  made  by  almost  a 
unanimous  vote,  except  the  article  changing  the  main 
office  from  Denver  to  Pinon,  and  that  being  a  part  of  con- 
stitutional organic  law  required  a  two-thirds  vote  and  was 
lost  or  negatived  by  seven  voters.  On  the  announcement, 
I.  Tarkoff  moved  to  adjourn  and  got  a  second  by  D. 
Springer,  but  was  voted  down  with  almost  a  unanimous 
vote. 

This  was  an  attempt  on  the  part  of  these  two  mem- 
bers, to  break  up  the  meeting,  Tarkoff  leaving  the  room, 
hoping  to  be  followed  by  a  majority,  but  not  a  single 
person  made  a  move  and  he  came  sneaking  back,  a  much 
disappointed  man,  but  his  sheeney  cheek  did  not  desert  him 
and  he  piped  in  with  his  squeaky,  unpleasant  voice,  that 
would  make  a  hungry  pig  leave  its  swill  and  run  to  its  mo- 


—167— 

ther  for  protection.  This  loquacious  bump  of  self  esteem  is 
fast  pulling  down  his  temple  of  power  on  his  own  head, 
and  will  be  buried  in  the  debris,  so  deep  that  he  will  not 
hear  the  call  of  Old  JSick,  for  all  living  Jews  to  come 
forth  and  stand  the  test  of  truth. 

The  question  of  a  smaller  ditch  came  up  in  the  way 
of  a  petition,  signed  by  a  large  number  of  those  on  the 
ground,  for  a  four  foot  ditch,  being  half  the  size  of  that 
now  under  construction.  They  claim  this  can  be  com- 
pleted in  one  year  from  next  Spring,  to  the  initial  point 
and  asked  for  an  endorsement  of  the  building  on  their 
purposed  plan,  and  got  it  in  full. 

They  claim  that  they  have  the  promise  of  enough 
members  that  will  pay  in  sufficient  cash  to  put  this  work 
through.  We  hope  this  is  true,  but  we  have  our  serious 
doubts  about  the  possibility.  Some  fool  or  knave  will  up- 
set any  plan  that  may  be  laid  with  the  best  of  intentions 
of  the  promoters.  It  is  an  utter  impossibility  to  harmon- 
ize this  class  of  people  long  enough  to  accomplish  any 
moderate  undertaking,  to  say  nothing  of  a  large  one  that 
is  necessary  to  carry  on  a  small  ditch  and  I  now  say,  with 
the  present  management  and  sort  of  people  now  on  the 
front,  three  years  will  not  see  water  on  the  park,  through 
any  sized  ditch. 

The  element  of  tact  and  thrift  is  only  found  in  a  few, 
and  they  will  get  tired  and  disgusted  and  will  cease  their 
efforts  to  pull  a  dead  horse  out  of  the  mire.  The  old 
dead-heads  and  pensioners  will  stay  and  grovel  about  be- 
ing half  maintained,  yet  will  not  leave  as  long  as  there  is 
anything  to  consume.  They  tell  us  that  they  cannot  get 
away  and  must  stay.  This  is  the  last  chance  they  have  to 
live  on  earth.  Tarkoff  and  Franklin  threw  out  strong 
intimations  of  what  would  come  if  money  was  not  forth- 


—168— 
coming  soon,  to  feed  these  forlorn  and  helpless  creatures. 

Yes,  they  will  still  live  on  the  hard  earned  money  of 
those  that  have  made  it  possible  for  them  to  live  there, 
and  they  will  kill  their  own  chances  to  have  a  home  in 
order  to  live  "now."  This  is  the  principal  cause  of  colony 
failure,  too  many  drones  in  the  hive.  They  cannot  be 
supported  by  those  that  are  able  and  willing  to  work- 
Every  man,  woman  or  child  who  gets  hurt  by  their  own 
carelessness,  expects  to  be  pensioned  in  the  colony.  If 
they  are  not,  they  threaten  to  bring  suit  for  damages. 
This  would  not  be  tolerated  by  any  other  sensible  set  of 
people,  that  should  enter  into  a  partnership  to  build  a 
ditch  or  enter  land  to  build  a  home,  and  how  can  any  hon- 
est person  solicit  a  poor  hard  working  man  or  woman  to 
enter  such  an  unfair  institution?  They  had  better  take 
their  chances  to  tight  the  battle  of  life  single-handed,  in 
old  competition  ranks. 

If  they  had  any  taxable  property,  they  must  pay  to 
maintain  the  county  and  state  poor,  in  addition  to  their 
own  colony  burden,  which  they  encounter  in  co-operating. 
Can  we  show  anyone  the  advantage  of  this  double  burden 
which  they  must  assume,  if  this  precedent  is  firmly  estab- 
lished. Sentiment  must  not  over-reach  our  ability  or  we 
sink. 

This  thing  of  making  fish  of  one  member  and  fowl 
of  another,  never  was  contemplated  by  the  founders  of  the 
colony,  and,  in  proof,  I  cite  the  case  of  J.  G.  Kinder's 
son,  Joseph,  an  outrageous  doctor's  bill  of  ninety  dollars, 
and  every  item  of  expense  has  been  charged  to  Mr.  Kinder 
who  is  a  poor  man,  for  the  reason  that  he  has  not  approved 
of  the  management,  and  has  spoken  plainly  about  it. 
Every  moment  of  attendence  by  any  member,  has  been 


—169   - 

charged  np  and  will  be  collected  of  this  honorable  mem- 
ber, who  was  one  thousand  miles  away  from  his  son. 

There  is  one  honorable  exception  to  this  inhumanity 
of  man  to  man.  Young  K.  J.  Cox,  from  Durango,  would 
not  accept  pay  for  his  services,  amounting  to  ten  dollars, 
putting  in  ten  hours  more  time  than  any  other  one  indi- 
vidual, and  he  is  as  poor  as  any  one  of  them,  and,  no 
doubt,  needs  money  as  bad  as  any  of  them,  yet  he  had  a 
larger  liberality  than  any  of  them,  and  1  shall  always  feel 
well  toward  the  young  man  for  it. 

On  the  other  extreme,  the  management  has  favored 
C  C.  Dunn,  Mrs.  Dunn  and  Mrs.  Whitney,  to  the  extent 
of  giving  each  of  them  a  water  right,  worth  at  the  lowest 
estimate,  two  hundred,  for  twenty  acres  each;  (J.  C.  Dunn, 
one  hundred  in  cash  for  all  time. 

Now  comes  the  Kister  family  to  support,  because  he 
got  tired  of  sustaining  them  and  committed  suicide. 
Now,  again,  Mr.  Fort  wants  pay  for  his  son's  carelessness 
in  sticking  his  hand  in  the  mill  saw,  which  cut  off  a  small 
portion  of  his  fingers,  and  he  will  likely  get  his  allowance. 
W.  (J.  Metcalf  put  his  foot  under  the  saw,  in  showing  off. 
Two  years  ago  the  colony  paid  his  expenses  to  Denver, 
and  in  the  hospital  for  nine  weeks,  w^ith  no  return  from 
him  in  the  shape  of  credits  to  the  colony. 

The  colony  never  was  intended  for  a  charitable  insti- 
tution. It  had  no  endowment  fund  placed  at  its  command 
for  such  purposes,  and  is  too  poor  to  go  beyond  doing 
common  justice  between  its  members  at  this  time,  and, 
when  we  are  self-sustaining  and  can  provide  a  fund  for 
the  care  of  the  unfortunate  ones,  it  will  be  all  right  to  do 
it,  but  at  no  time  pension  anyone.  The  nation  did  not  do 
that  in  its  infancy.     It  could  not  afford  it  for  its  soldiers, 


—170— 

much  less  its  private  citizens,  which  must  take  care  of 
themselves. 

It  matters  not  vrhat  misfortunes  overtake  them,  cor- 
porations do  not  pension  anyone  who  may  lose  a  limb,  only 
where  it  can  be  proven  that  it  was  through  their  misman- 
agement, that  any  loss  occurred.  If  they  did  anything, 
it  would  be  voluntarily  and  the  sooner  our  people  look  at 
all  things  in  a  purely  business  light,  the  sooner  we  can 
reach  the  ideal  of  doing  good  things  for  all  who  need 
assistance. 

The  old  saying,  that  charity  should  begin  at  home, 
holds  good  with  poor  people  and  poor  colonies  as  well. 
Liberality  is  all  right  in  its  place  but  has  its  limit.  Some 
people  are  very  liberal  in  handling  other  people's  money. 
A  gambler  is  liberal  with  his  ill  gotten  gain,  but  it  is 
not  charity  to  rob  one  person  to  give  to  another  and  this 
is  the  policy  the  colony  has  established  in  this  pension 
move.  They  are  taking  the  chances  away  from  those  who 
are  as  poor  as  those  they  are  favoring,  keeping  them  from 
securing  a  home  by  diverting  the  means  they  have  given 
to  put  that  ditch  out,  and  they  have  no  right  to  do  it,  any 
more  than  they  have  to  put  tkeir  hands  into  their  pockets 
and  force  that  much  from  them.  It  is  all  wrong  and  a 
high  handed  method.  If  anyone,  becoming  crippled  in 
this  work,  thinks  he  can  sue  and  get  damages,  let  him  do 
it,  then  if  the  courts  compel  a  payment,  no  one  is  to  blame, 
though  wrong  it  may  be. 

The  colony  only  comes  under  the  head  of  corporations, 
to  come  under  the  state  law  and  to  protect  individuals,  as 
stockholders  from  being  swallowed  up  by  an  unscrupulous 
management.  The  mutual  agreement  for  a  mutual  benefit 
is  doing  a  certain  work  that  could  not  be  done  single 
handed,  with  the  limited  means  of  a  poor  man. 


—171— 

It  was  the  first  incentive  to  form  this  colony.  If 
they  succeeded  in  doing  this  first  work,  i.  e.  the  ditch, 
then  other  benefits  might  be  taken  up,  as  the  good  judg- 
ment of  the  membership  could  see,  and  would  not  be 
merely  experimental,  but  practical  and  not  in  advance  of 
need  or  ability  to  carry  it  into  success.  Poor  people,  who 
are  climbing  the  ladder,  must  step  carefully  lest  they  fall, 
and  have  to  commence  at  the  bottom  again.  A  good  bus- 
iness man  with  small  means,  only  adds  to  his  stock  and 
enlarges  his  business  as  he  can  see  safety  ahead  of  him, 
and  why  should  a  colony  act  on  a  different  basis  under 
the  same  conditions.  There  is  no  cause  to  put  the  cart 
before  the  horse,  because  of  our  members. 

If  nature  had  endowed  us  with  the  system,  sense  and 
harmony  of  the  bee  or  ant,  in  doing  their  work,  we  might 
do  wonders  for  ourselves  but,  instead,  we  were  born  sel- 
fish, and  nurse  this  trait  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave  in 
our  blind  desire  to  be  more  than  our  fellow  man,  and  what 
a  beautiful  mess  we  make  of  it,  wiggling  like  helpless 
worms,  trying  to  be  the  topmost  worm. 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

At  this  date,  October,  1899,  the  colony  paper,  ''The 
Altrurian,"  will  not  appear  to  its  readers,  to  tell  them  of 
colony  progress  and  none  of  its  mistakes.  It  is  a  sorrow 
to  us,  that  had  control  of  the  publication  in  its  babyhood, 
to  know  how  it  has  been  prostituted  to  the  vile  purposes 
of  the  enemies  of  real  altruistic  thought,  and  turned  it  in- 
to a  free  love,  socialistic  sheet,  to  vilify  the  founders  of 
the  colony  and  the  starters  of  the  paper,  who  hoped  to  see 
it  get  into  more  able  and  better  hands  and  become  a 
standard  paper,  for  its  veracity  and  good  sense  in  all  it 
had  to  say  for  freedom. 


—172  — 

It  was  published  at  a  loss  from  the  beginning,  as  a 
monthly  paper,  but  the  loss  was  so  small  then  that  no  one 
felt  it,  and,  having  no  other  avenue  to  reach  the  eye  of 
co-operators  and  home  seekers,  it  was  a  necessity  to  pub- 
lish it.  A  sad  mistake  was  made  in  merging  it  into  a 
weekly  and  a  greater  mistake  has  been  made  in  the  ap- 
pointment of  editors.  We  thought  Mr.  P.  B.  Hirsh 
would  see  fair  play  and  do  the  right  thing  so  far  as  his 
ability  could  be  considered,  but  he  got  -'Tarkoffed"  and 
went  blind  as  snakes  do  in  dog  days.  He  got  so  much 
Jew  virus  in  his  veins,  mixed  with  his  Jew  name,  that  the 
marks  of  a  pack,  on  his  back,  might  be  looked  for  in  con- 
fidence, and  so  many  have  said  to  me:  "Hirsh  must  be  a 
Jew,  judging  by  his  name  and  affiliations."  It  was  he 
who  enlisted  Moses  and  Isaac  and  cursed  be  the  day  he 
did  it,  and  blessed  be  the  day  when  no  Jew  name  shall 
cloud  the  record  of  our  colony.  The  sun  will  shine 
brighter  and  less  biting  frosts  will  turn  things  black  unto 
decay.     Hell  is  full  of  such  destroyers  of  peace  and  hope. 

Last  year  the  paper  was  run  at  a  loss  of  eight  hundred 
dollars.  It  is  about  time  to  suspend  publication  of  such 
rot  as  it  has  been  tilled  with,  for  a  year  past.  It  is  a 
stench  in  the  nostrils  of  any  decent  thinking  person  and 
does  more  harm  than  good. 

Moses  will  have  one  less  chance  to  bring  himself 
before  the  stockholders'  notice,  but  he  can  write  plausible 
letters  and  charge  the  colony  twenty  cents  an  hour,  and 
have  stamps  and  paper  furnished  him,  to  get  proxies  into 
his  hands.  The  sixty-tive  listless  dupes  that  put  proxies 
into  his  keeping,  will  hear  something  to  wake  them  up, 
one  of  these  days.  The  yea  editor  that  says  he  has  always 
advocated  justice,  a  quality  he  never  possessed,  cannot 
cover  his  tracks  always,    to    the    outside  members.     We 


—  173— 

know  his  twisting,  slinking  character  too  well  to  be  de- 
ceived by  him  in  any  way. 

Moses  Franklin's  justice  showed  itself  when  he  doc- 
tored the  books  to  show  that  Brooks  was  in  debt  to  the 
colony  over  one  hundred  dollars,  when  he  was  general 
manager,  and  Franklin  as  book-keeper,  also  to  show  that 
J.  W.  Smith  as  treasurer,  was  short  eighteen  dollars  when 
in  reality  the  colony  was  owing  him   nearly  that  amount. 

In  the  case  of  Brooks  he  dug  up  the  error  when  they 
were  about  to  have  an  expert  examine  the  books,  then  he 
acknowledged  he  was  punishing  Brooks  to  get  even  with 
him.  This  is  his  idea  of  justice.  Who  could  trust  such 
a  man  with  his  books  or  business  and  pay  him  to  vent  his 
own  spite  on  people,  far  his  superior  in  all  respects. 

These  proxy  senders  never  heard  of  this  and  many 
other  such  capers  that  he  has  cut,  while  he  was  piling  up 
credits  to  add  cost  to  their  water.  He  has  nearly  always 
had  a  soft  job  of  some  kind  and,  like  Tarkoff,  worked  some 
when  they  first  went  down  to  ingratiate  themselves  with 
tlie  workers,  and  talk  up  their  great  plans  of  how  to  run  a 
colony  on  business  principles,  both  being  great  business 
men,  in  their  own  opinion,  and  now  we  see  the  results: 
an  empty  treasury,  less  than  half  of  the  working  force, 
ditch  standing  idle,  little  or  no  moftey  coming  in,  confi- 
dence destroyed,  members  selling  credits  at  fifty  percent., 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  delinquent  members  on  the 
books,  winter  near  at  hand,  no  flour  or  grain  being  hauled 
in,  as  in  the  two  previous  winters,  supplies  of  all  kinds 
short  and  seventeen  hundred  dollars  debt  hanging  unpaid; 
yet  these  sheen ies  expect  people  to  throw  money  in  to 
them,  and  say  they  do  not  want  advice,  they  want  money. 

Such  supreme  impudence  could  only  come  from  the 
Jew.     No  other  nationality  could  summon  the  gall  to  do 


—174— 

it.  They  would  slink  away,  knowing  how  they  had  de- 
ceived the  poor  people  they  led  into  this  ambush  of  diffi- 
culty, that  they  will  not  soon  forget  or  recover  from,  as  it 
is  far  reaching  in  its  effects.  No  one  who  has  not  worked 
in  colonies,  can  form  any  idea  how  easy  it  is  to  discourage 
people  from  paying  in  money  and  cause  them  to  drop  out 
entirely,  after  having  paid  considerable  money.  It  is  a 
common  occurence. 

If  the  promoters  stop  their  work  of  recruiting  by 
force  of  conditions  that  they  cannot  control,  the  colony 
loses  ground  rapidly  and  will  soon  topple  over  if  such 
conditions  last  long.  The  recovery  from  any  sickness  to 
a  healthy  state  is  a  slow  process  and  requires  good  nursing 
and  much  patience,  and  the  question  comes  to  those  who 
have  nursed  the  Colorado  Colony  through  former  sickness; 
can  it  be  done  a  third  time?  And  if  it  can,  will  it  not 
have  another  attack  as  soon  as  it  gets  well  on  its  feet  so  it 
can  do  business? 

It  is  always  said,  where  there  is  life  there  is  hope, 
and  we  cling  to  that  which  we  love,  though  it  be  maimed 
and  deformed  from  its  original  beauty  to  us.  The  poor  old 
body  that  holds  the  spirit  of  intent  is  dear  to  us.  This 
golden  opportunity  that  nature  has  offered  us  is  all  there, 
waiting  to  be  turned  i-nto  nestling  little  homes,  the  same 
as  four  years  ago.  The  San  Miguel  River  flows  by  with 
as  much  vigor  as  four  years  ago.  We  have  not  diverted 
a  drop  out  of  the  natural  bed.  We  have  tussled  over  and 
blasted  out  some  of  the  solid  rock  for  five  miles,  parallel- 
ing the  undisturbed  stream. 

We  have  converted  some  ten  thousand  of  the  adjacent 
pine  trees  into  lumber.  We  have  made  some  little 
ribbons  of  roads  for  our  own  use,  and  have  been  the  cause 
of  a  shorter  and  better  road  being  made  over  the  Uncom- 


—175— 

paghre  Mountain  from  Montrose  to  Naturita,  out  of  state 
funds,  procured  by  our  bill  before  the  state  legislature  for 
that  purpose  through  three  sessions,  before  we  got  what 
was  much  needed. 

We  have  two  good  saw  mills  and  other  machinery, 
teams,  wagons,  tools  and  printing  outfit,  which  it  takes 
time  and  money  to  acquire.  We  have  much  that  is  val- 
uable for  our  purposes.  Now  shall  we  lose  it  all,  and  this 
splendid  opportunity,  for  the  sake  of  satisfying  the  whims 
of  a  few  would-be  leaders,  who  have  found  their  way  into 
our  ranks,  full  of  selfish  or  impractical  designs,  that  lead 
to  stagnation  by  the  loss  of  valuable  time  and  money, 
poorly  spent  in  phantom  plans  that  thus  far,  have  turned 
into  absolute  failures?  I,  for  one,  do  not  like  to  see  our 
plans  cast  to  the  four  winds,  to  please  anyone,  much  less  a 
Jew. 

Let  us  free  the  colony  from  entanglement  of  all  kinds 
and  put  our  shoulders  to  the  wheel  and  lift  ourselves  out 
of  the  quagmire,  and  select  a  better  class  of  people  for  the 
front  work  in  .  the  future  and  shut  out  large  families 
until  the  ditch  is  out. 

For  every  two  that  come  in,  there  must  be  one  good 
worker.  Give  them  so  much  money  and  let  them  buy 
their  own  supplies.  Give  them  so  much  garden  space 
and  let  them  raise  their  own  stuff  or  do  without,  then  you 
would  see  the  boys  and  girls  working  in  the  garden  under 
the  direction  of  the  mother.  You  would  see  less  weeds 
then,  in  the  colony  garden,  and  more  vegetables.  You 
would  see  a  cow,  chickens  and  some  pigs  to  each  thrifty 
family. 

There  would  be  no  room  for  the  shiftless,  floating 
drift  wood  to  lodge  and  clog  the  stream.  They  would  not 
anchor  in  our  harbor,  as  they  now  do,  to  draw  rations  out 


—176- 

of  the  commissary  and  growl  at  the  quantity  and  quality  of 
the  goods.  They  would  move  on  and  find  some  lazy,  dead 
town,  and  live  from  hand  to  mouth  the  balance  of  their 
worthless  days.  Co-operation  has  no  meaning  to  such 
people,  unless  it  is  that  they  are  to  be  supported,  they 
care  not  from  what  source.  They  swell  like  a  dog  tick, 
from  stolen  blood,  and  cry  for  more,  more,  more  blood 
until  they  kill  the  dog  that  gave  them  life.  The  useful 
must  die  so  they  may  live  to  infest  the  earth  as  weeds, 
that  no  scientist  ever  found  what  they  were  created  for, 
excrescences  that  sap  out  an  existence  and  turn  the  beauti- 
ful into  scorn  and  withering  decay. 

They  come  as  an  epidemic,  unbidden,  unwelcome,  to 
the  home  of  industry,  peace  and  plenty,  and  are  as 
mistletoe  that  grows  without  drawing  its  own  sustenance 
from  air  or  earth,  as  vultures  that  are  waiting  for  some 
carcass  that  has  fallen,  which  they  may  devour,  like  the 
shark  that  follows  the  ship  by  instinct,  knowing  that  some 
one  must  soon  be  turned  over  to  them. 

I  linger  on  this  subject,  because  of  my  contempt  for 
any  and  all  who  want  to  live  at  the  cost  of  other's  labor. 
I  cannot  tolerate  them  or  have  any  respect  for  them,  and 
cannot  see  why  anyone  who  is  industrious  and  self-sustain- 
inor,  would  allow  this  class  to  live  on  their  earnings.  I 
would  rather  give  an  honest,  industrious  man  ten  dollars 
than  to  allow  a  professional  dead-beat  to  play  me  for  ten 
cents  in  any  of  the  devious  ways  in  common  use  by  this 
class  of  law  slippers.  I  have  just  as  much  respect  for  the 
man  who  holds  you  or  me  up,  and  takes  his  chances  of  be- 
ing killed  or  sent  to  the  penitentiary. 


177— 


CHAPTER  XXYIII. 


Following  our  unended  war  with  the  Philippines  and 
Spanish,  defeat  of  the  last  named  by  our  army  and  navy, 
comes  the  English  and  Boer  war,  which  has  been  brewing 
for  some  time  past,  in  South  Africa. 

Yesterday,  October  12th,  1899,  it  is  supposed  some 
active  conflict  took  place.  The  Boers  are  an  independent 
people,  who  came  from  Holland  to  South  Africa  about  one 
hundred  years  ago,  as  a  colony,  and  are  a  quiet,  religious 
people,  mostly  farmers,  and  not  very  progressive  in  the 
matter  of  money  making,  or  taking  the  advantage  of  the 
resources  of  their  adopted  country,  while  the  near  neigh- 
bors, the  Englishmen,  always  have  an  idea  for  mines  or 
any  enterprise  in  which  there  is  a  chance  to  make  money, 
and  the  rich  gold  fields  of  South  Africa  have  attracted 
thousands  of  them  to  the  Transvaal  country  until  they 
out-number  the  old  settlers  in  their  own  land,  and  then 
demand  citizen's  rights,  through  their  government,  which 
has  caused  this  eruption,  and  the  Boers  well  knowing  the 
aggressiveness  of  the  Englishmen,  refused  through  their 
president,  Paul  Kruger,  to  recognize  this  demand  of 
franchise. 

They  well  and  fully  understand  English  grab  of  ter- 
ritory under  some  pretense.     They  seem  to  want  the  world. 

They  have  demonstrated  their  ability  to  possess  and 
hold  a  large  portion  of  it,  and  they  certainly  know  how  to^ 
handle  colonial  possessions,  since  their  sad  experience 
with  the  North  American  States  who  threw  off  their  yoke, 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  years  ago,  on  account  of 
high  tax  oppression  and  arrogance,  which  is  peculiar  to 
the  British  when  they  have  power  to  enforce  their  will. 


•   —178— 

This  they  must  have  modified  in  their  relations  with 
colonies,  as  our  Canadian  neighbors  are  as  loyal  to  the  old 
country  as  the  manor  born  Englishman.  Australia  and 
New  Zealand  seem  very  content,  while  Scotland  pulls  in 
the  English  yoke  as  though  it  were  always  on  her  neck? 
but  the  Green  Isle  subjects  are  still  galled  and  would  turn 
against  tiie  power  that  holds  them  in  obeyance  to  Queen 
Victoria.  There  is  no  natural  affinity  between  the  two 
races,  in  anything  and  never  can  be.  Oil  and  water  will 
not  mix.  The  Celts  will  never  become  willing  subjects  to 
Great  Britain.  They  want  independence  and  freedom  in 
all  things  except  religion.  In  this  they  are  willing  slaves. 
Superstition  lurks  in  their  nature  and  makes  them  tit  sub- 
jects for  the  church,  that  draws  the  last  penny  out  of 
tliem,  so  that  the  priest  may  indulge  in  luxury. 

England  would  gladly  form  a  combination  with  the 
United  States  of  America  for  her  own  protection,  as  she 
is  not  in  high  feather  with  European  powers,  because  of 
her  bullying  methods  toward  weaker  nations.  France 
recently  had  a  taste  of  this  at  Fashoda.  The  German 
papers  are  teeming  with  good  wishes  for  the  Boers. 
Russia  only  wishes  for  a  chance  to  test  her  fighting  ability 
with  England.  She  has  not  forgotten  the  Crimean  war 
yet. 

This  petty  jealousy  of  nations  is  to  be  much  deplored 
by  all  right  thinking  people,  but  it  may  take  thousands  of 
years  to  evolve  out  of  it.  In  some  things  we  seem 
to  advance  rapidly  while  in  others  we  are  very  slow. 
Arbitration  should  settle  all  national  disputes  and  diffi- 
culties, instead  of  deadly  contests,  where  the  weak  never 
get  justice  and  the  strong  go  unpunished.  The  Japanese 
settle  nearly  all  differences  among  themselves  by  arbi- 
tration, even    down    to    children's    affairs.     They  do  not 


—  179— 

jump  into  courts  for  small  offences,  like  the  Americans. 
Why  should  great  nations,  who  call  themselves  Christians, 
go  to  murdering  each  other  like  savages,  to  settle  business 
matters?  If  they  would  establish  a  board  of  arbitration, 
they  could  do  away  with  these  great  standing  armies  and 
navies  that  are  eating  cancers  of  idleness. 

Turn  the  inventive  genius  that  is  now  wasted  on 
murderous  arms  and  defences  toward  the  comfort  and 
happiness  of  man,  instead  of  standing  like  ignorant  ir*at 
with  chips  on  our  soldiers  waiting  for  some  one  to  knock 
them  off,  so  we  may  have  a  scrap  and  show  our  brutish 
proclivity,  by  goring  each  other  and  devastating  our  coun- 
tries and  leaving  behind  a  wreck  of  cripples  who  must  be 
pensioned,  and  a  demoralized  condition,  reaching  to  unborn 
generations,  long  after  the  real  actors  have  gone. 

This  is  easily  demonstrated  by  our  own  civil  contest 
of  nearly  forty  years  ago.  Crime  of  murder  has  almost 
doubled  in  Anierica  since  the  war  ended.  The  children 
born  to  mothers  who  were  directly  interested  in  the  war, 
had  imparted  to  them  the  mother's  inner  feelings  of  spite 
against  those  on  the  opposite  side,  and  this  may  follow  for 
several  generations  to  come,  as  other  attentations  cling  and 
are  manifest  in  many  ways,  not  to  be  set  aside. 

We  see  in  the  good  old  state  of  Kentucky,  where 
many  of  the  best  and  noblest  people  that  ever  came  into 
the  world  are  born,  that  feeling  of  spite  comes  inborn 
against  old  family  disagreements,  and  it  is  only  the  chance 
of  ours  or  the  others  to  survive,  to  bring  on  other  genera- 
tions. 

One  can  only  give  one's  opinion  of  wrong.  A  protest 
is  like  trying  to  stay  the  wind,  or  make  it  blow.  All 
reforms  come  very  slow.  All  departures  from  old  methods 
of  any  kind,  of  whatever  nature,  it  matters  not  how  absurd, 


—  ISO- 
are  like  parting  with  life  blood,    on  which  depends  onr 
existence. 

Superstition  is  so  mixed  with  our  natures  that  we  are 
glued  to  the  thoughts  and  customs  of  those  that  came 
before  us.  The  fog  is  only  cleared  away  by  some  one  who 
sees  more  clearly  and"  has  the  bravery  to  assert  what  he 
or  she  believes  and  gradually,  others  see  by  the  illustra- 
tion thus  made  and  the  truth  is  established  and  accepted. 

The  Boers  are  massing  troops  around  Ladysmith  and 
some  skirmishing  has  resulted  in  deaths  on  both  sides  and 
soon  we  expect  to  hear  of  a  heavy  battle  being  fought. 
England  is  making  extensive  preparations  for  a  bloody 
war,  more  so  than  she  ever  did  with  powerful  nations,  as 
she  realizes  that  these  people  are  in  dead  earnest  and  will 
light  to  the  bitter  end  to  save  their  homes  from  being 
taken  under  British  rule  and  many  an  Englishman  will 
bite  the  dust  by  Boer  bullets,  shot  by  well  directed  marks- 
men, as  they  are  said  to  be,  with  stubborn  courage  behind 
the  gun  that  sends  them. 

Cecil  Rhodes  is  a  man  who'  has  done  more  to  bring 
on  this  war  than  anyone,  by  trying  to  force  these  people 
to  grant  his  countrymen  the  right  to  vote  and  still  hold 
their  allegiance  to  England.  This  vote  would  be  a  con- 
trolling power  in  their  hands,  and  they  would  not  ask  such 
rights  from  any  nation  fully  able  to  meet  them  on  any 
terms  they  might  suggest.  Rhodes  has  become  very  rich 
out  of  the  mines  in  that  country,  which  have  been  pouring 
millions  of  wealth  into  England's  coffers  for  n}any  years 
past. 

Not  satisfied  with  all  this  stream  of  gold  and 
diamonds,  tbey  want  the  earth  and  all  that  it  will  contain 
or  produce,  and  our  own  country  with  its  three  thousand 
millions  and  one  billion  syndicate,  made  up  of  multi-mil- 


—181— 

lionaires,  is  reaching  out  for  more  territory  in,  the  expan- 
sion doctrine  of  the  G.  O.  P.,  headed  by  that  tractable 
tool,  McKinley,  who  was  elected  by  bribery  and  counting 
out  the  majority  in  a  number  of  States. 

The  shady  pretense  of  this  money  power,  not  to  assist 
the  Cubans  in  their  strife  for  freedom,  is  now  very  appar- 
ent as  only  a  rnse  to  tire  up  the  people  and  force  the 
administration  to  action  and  cover  up  their  plans  of 
expansion  and  speculation.  This  country  is  not  large 
enough  for  these  swell  corporations  that  are  pinching  the 
people  into  their  terms  on  all  the  essentials  of  life,  and  at 
the  same  time  can  hardly  find  places  to  put  their  income. 
It  is  so  enormous  and  wants  new  territory,  and  these  near 
and  distant  islands  will  afford  a  new  field  of  operation  and 
others  must  be  made  subservient  to  the  all-powerful 
accumulation  of  the  favored  few  that  sing  the  Siren  song 
of  more  worlds  to  conquer,  that  we  may  teach  them  civil- 
ization and  Christianity. 

What  a  deceptive  creature  is  man,  who  is  always 
hiding  his  real  motive  in  all  that  he  does,  to  gain  some 
advantage  over  his  fellows. 

March  3rd,  1900. 

On  February  27th,  the  British  had  their  first  victory 
over  General  Cronje,  one  of  the  Boer's  leading  commanders. 
He  was  retreating  from  Robert's  and  Kitchener's  large 
army  which  got  them  hemmed  in,  in  the  bed  of  a  river. 

He  has  held  fifty  thousand  of  British  troops  at  bay 
for  nine  days,  with  four  thousand  Boers,  or  about  sixteen 
to  one,  but,  being  so  greatly  out-numbered,  capitulated, 
it  being  the  anniversary  of  the  great  battle  at  Majuba  Hill, 
Minturn,  years  ago  between  the  Boers  and  British  forces, 
known  as  the  Jamestown  raid  war,  of  that  year.     There, 


—182  — 

as  now,  the  Boers  conquered   the  English  in  all  contests, 
iive  to  one. 

These  people  are  fighting  the  most  powerful  nation 
in  the  known  world,  excepting  the  United  States  of 
America.  These  two  independent  colonies  united,  would 
not  equal  Canada,  New  Zealand  or  Australia  seperately. 
yet  Great  Britain  has  called  troops  from  each  of  them  as 
well  as  Scotland,  Ireland  and  England,  and  all  her  great 
generals  to  command  her  two  hundred  thousands. 

Five  of  her  greatest  commanders  have  been  defeated 
and  Buller  four  times  in  the  past  four  months  and,  from 
all  appearances,  it  will  take  four  more  months  to  capture 
these  people,  who  are  fighting  for  human  rights  and  should 
succeed,  and  all  lovers  of  liberty  should  rejoice  at  their 
every  victory.  Those  that  wear  the  shackles  of  tyranny 
in  whatever  form,  and  are  satisfied  with  them  are  only 
menial,  little  superior  to  the  chattel  slaves,  who  can  be 
sold  at  the  will  of  their  masters 

A  man  that  can  sing  "God  Save  the  Queen"  (or  King) 
when  common  intelligence  would  tell  him  of  their  Brit- 
ish ancestry  which  runs  in  their  blood,  is  not  a  fit  subject 
for  liberty.  He  is  a  born  sla\;e,  ready  to  bend  his  knee 
and  bow  his  head  to  rotten  royal  blood  that  saps  his  birth 
right,  through  ignorance  of  nature's  laws,  that  gave  him 
equal  rights  with  all  human  kind. 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

In  taking  up  the  raveled  ends  of  colony  history  at 
this  date,  March  9th,  I  find  that  since  the  last  special 
meeting,  held  September  27th,  in  Denver,  very  little,  if 
any,  progress  has  been  made  in  any  direction.  More  men 
have  been  employed  on   the    ditch   but  in   the  matter  of 


—  183— 

employment,  poor  judgment  lias  prevailed,  and  is  still  in 
the  saddle  driving  the  poor,  jaded  beast,  as  a  beggar 
would  a  borrowed  horse.  Jnst  how  long  he  will  stand  the 
strain,  is  a  matter  of  conjecture  as  luck  and  chance  may 
continue  to  favor  the  rider,  as  we  hold  that  the  supposed 
over-ruling  power  has  little  to  do  with  human  action,  un- 
less there  are  two  rulers  running  in  opposition.  One 
ruler  could  not  be  consistent  in  wisdom,  as  an  ideal  of 
justice  coming  from  such  an  exalted  source. 

At  the  September  meeting  a  well  signed  petition  was 
presented  for  consideration.  This  petition  was  for  the 
purpose  of  lessening  the  size  of  the  ditch  from  eight  to 
four  feet  on  the  bottom.  This  came  from  the  resident 
stockholder  to  the  outside  stockholder  as  a  feasible  plan  to 
become  self-supporting  as  far  as  possible,  on  what  this 
amount  of  water  would  irrigate.  The  plan  was  fully  dis- 
cussed and  it  was  fully  understood  that  no  changes  should 
be  made  in  that  part  of  the  ditch  from  head  gate  to  and 
across  Cottonwood  Creek,  as  much  of  this  distance  is 
flume  work  and  grade,  made  at  eight  foot  fall  to  the  mile. 

This  is  too  rapid  a  fall  for  anything  but  wood  or 
solid  stone  work  to  stand  the  cutting  and  pressure  of 
water,  and  it  was  tacitly  agreed  that  the  flume  bed  should 
be  laid  as  originally  intended,  with  side  boards  high 
enough  to  carry  four  feet  of  water.  {)n  this  understand- 
ing they  got  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  members  to 
make  the  change,  and  all  felt  satisfied. 

What  have  we  for  the  agreement  made  in  xrood  faith 
on  our  part?  We  have  five  months  of  time  spent  in  tear- 
ing away  what  flume  was  built,  and  in  its  place,  we  have 
the  attempt  to  make  a  ditch  on  the  flume  bed,  by  piling 
stone  on  the  outer  bank  and  covering  it  with  loose  dirt. 


—184— 

All  past  experience  has  taught  ditch  owners  and 
engineers  that  water  running  at  such  a  fall,  will  wear  its 
way  through  any  such  temporary  construction,  especially 
so  when  the  canal  is  made  on  the  side  of  the  mountain, 
and  subject  to  heavy  summer  rains  that  come  down  the 
sides  in  sheets  and  carry  rock  and  all  loose  debris  with 
great  force,  causing  the  ditch  to  overflow  in  any  weak 
place  it  may  find  and  it  will  cut  a  great  gap  in  a  very 
short  time,  that  will  take  days  to  repair,  at  no  small  cost. 

The  control  has  been  admonished  and  cautioned  about 
this  danger  when  we  see  great  stones,  weighing  tons,  that 
have  been  carried  down  some  of  the  small  drains  where 
the  water  concentrates,  and  flumes  must  be  provided  with 
passage  ways  either  over  or  under,  to  prevent  its  destruc- 
tion at  such  a  time,  by  heavy  boulders  that  wash  loose  and 
come  down  with  terrific  force;  but  in  the  face  of  all  this 
self-evident  proof,  these  self-wise  people  persist  in  spend- 
ing time  in  this  unwise  experiment,  at  their  own  risk  and 
that  of  all  connected  with  it.  Possibly  it  may  stand  and 
be  of  some  benefit.  As  they  seem  to  have  been  favored 
in  some  respects,  they  may  be  in  this,  and  we  sincerely 
hope  they  will  be. 

Exploiting  at  the  risk  of  others  who  are  not  able  to 
bear  the  expense,  is  not  honest  or  just,  when  they  object 
to  it,  and  this  is  certainly  what  is  being  done  at  this  time 
in  Pinon.  They  act  more  like  owners  than  agents  or 
servants,  imitating  the  ofliceholder  who  comes  humbly, 
before  he  gets  elected,  to  ask  a  chance  to  serve  the  people, 
but  when  once  he  knows  he  is  safe  in  ofiice,  the  manners 
of  a  master  are  assumed  and  he  seems  to  think  that  he 
owns  the  office  and  the  people  who  gave  it  to  him.  If  he 
does  not  embezzle  in  his  first  term  he  is  sure  to  do  it  in 
his  second,  if  he  cannot  bribe  himself  into  a  third  term 


—185— 

and  escape  the  penitentiary.  He  is  not  an  expert  and 
must  fall  back  into  the  ranks,  never  to  rise  above  the 
surface  again. 

How  silly  is  the  ambition  of  man  to  be  something 
among  his  fellows,  that  will  bring  forth  their  idolatry, 
and  how  often  the  babble  bursts  and  leaves  him  in  aban- 
donment to  the  cruel  thrusts  of  treachery  that  are  lurking 
on  his  path.  Man's  inhumanity  to  man  is  so  often 
repeated  that  hardly  one  escapes  the  sting,  who  lives  to 
maturity,  and  trembling  old  age  is  not  excepted  but  goes 
tottering  to  the  grave,  feeling  that  relief  from  this  strange 
cruelty  that  haunts  human  life,  is  only  found  in  death. 

Does  all  this  come  from  an  all-wise  providence  that 
we  hear  so  much  about,  who  made  all  things  perfect  and 
made  the  highest  type  of  intelligent  beings  so  cruel  to 
each  other.  There  must  be  a  screw  loose  somewhere, 
that  needs  looking  alter,  by  this  all-wise  creator. 

There  is  a  religious  way  of  screening  this  great  mis- 
take of  this  mighty  power  and  that  is  to  lay  it  on  the 
creator  of  all  evil,  "His  Majesty,"  who  equals  the  Trinity 
in  holding  his  own  over  mankind.  His  business  is  not  so 
largely  advertised  as  in  the  past,  though  he  seems  to  be 
at  the  old  stand,  and  has  some  very  active  agents  at 
Pinon,  so  we  should  judge  he  is  on  the  side  of  trusts, 
which  are  capering  under  the  disguise  of  Christianity. 

Also  a  small  agency  in  Denver  has  been  stirring  up 
the  embers  to  make  a  flame,  by  lying  through  the  daily 
papers  of  this  city  in  the  past  week.  One  Martin  Locher 
showed  his  hand  in  one  or  two  sputtering  articles  like 
throwing  grains  of  powder  on  the  fire,  and  it  had  about 
as  much  effect  on  the  mind  of  anyone  who  is  acquainted 
with  this  erratic  creature.  He  is  never  so  happy  as  when 
in  a  controversy.     Peace  and  harmony  are  like  slow  poison 


—186— 

to  his  existence.  He  is  so  full  of  venom  that  it  is  a  Won- 
der  he  lives  through  dog  days  in  August,  and  does  not 
bite  himself,  as  some  kinds  of  snakes  do. 

This  human  misfit  is  doing  his  best  to  cause  all  the 
trouble  he  can,  between  the  Denver  Club  of  colonists  and 
the  Pinon  people,  ever  since  he  took  sides  with  the  Tarkoff 
faction,  that  made  such  a  muddle  of  colony  affairs  two 
years  ago.  He  then  made  himself  so  obnoxious  to  a 
large  majority  that  he  was  expelled  from  the  club  and, 
for  some  time  after,  persisted  in  attending  the  meetings 
so  he  might  throw  a  fire  brand  into  some  combustible 
matter  that  would  do  some  damage  to  those  he  had 
attempted  to  injure  by  his  frantic  assertions,  but  silent 
contempt  wore  on  his  tempestuous  nature,  by  closing  his 
mouth  so  that  he  could  not  stand  the  pressure  and  he  has 
quit  his  personal  appearance  to  quench  his  thirst  in  seek- 
ing a  chance  to  bubble,  through  the  press,  now  and  then. 
This  alone  keeps  him  out  of  trouble.  Such  an  advocate 
never  advances  the  cause  he  espouses,  it  matters  not  how 
good  it  may  be  in  principle,  or  how  necessary  for  the 
advancement  of  man.  It  is  often  said  that  cranks  move 
the  world  to  action.  This  may  to  some  extent,  be  true 
but  we  think  a  steady  puller  is  far  preferable  and  effects 
greater  reforms  in  a  given  time  than  the  extreme  agitator 
who  shoots  through  space  like  a  meteor  that  heats  by  fric- 
tion, and  buries  itself  in  the  ground  to  lay  in  silence. 
The  steady  puller  makes  sure  of  his  way  at  every  step, 
and  gains  confidence  that  aids  in  all  reforms  that  are  last- 
ing and  necessary  to  our  good  and  happiness.  The 
emotional  is  not  the  enduring  element  in  our  natures,  as 
it  is  formed  on  sensational  thought,  that  is  not  nurtured 
by  reason.  Extreme  agitators  are  short-lived  before  the 
public  and  go  to  oblivion  if  they  strike  a  discordant  note, 


—187— 

which  they  are  apt  to  do,  in  their  over-zealous  desire  to 
create  a  sensation,  to  render  themselves  famous. 

CHAPTEK  XXX. 

On  April  1st,  1900,  a  meeting  of  the  Denver  mem- 
bers was  held,  to  consult  on  the  publication  of  a  small 
sheet  in  the  interests  of  all  stockholders  of  the  Colorado 
Co-operative  Colony,  who  might  be  laboring  under  some 
misapprehension  of  the  true,  inside  management  of  the 
colony  affairs  at  Pinon,  as  the  colony  organ,  "The  Altru- 
rian,"  is  so  strongly  partisan  in  its  reports,  that  many  of 
us  have  doubted  its  reliability  in  many  of  the  statements, 
that  go  out  to  the  distant  stockholders,  who  have  no  other 
«ource  to  gain  information  of  their  interests. 

The  situation  is  so  highly  colored,  that  the  conserva- 
tive member  who  does  not  analyze  and  put  this  and  that 
together,  to  see  if  they  will  dovetail  and  make  close  fitting 
truth  the  basis  of  their  call  on  them  for  help,  that  the 
unsuspecting  member  who  only  gleans,  after  the  harvest 
is  gathered,  will  get  little  for  his  trouble  if  not  informed. 
So  we  are  taking  this  method  to  see  if  it  will  do  any  good 
to  awaken  thera  from  their  alluring  dreams  of  security, 
by  telling  the  actual  facts.  We  well  know  that  we  are 
jabbing  a  torch  into  a  hornets'  nest  that  will  cause  a  buzz 
and  sting  of  the  whole  swarm. 

It  is  against  our  wishes  to  antagonize,  but  time  is 
being  wasted  and  money  squandered,  as  is  sbown  by  their 
own  reports  and  the  cost  of  water  is  climbing  up  so  far 
in  advance  of  all  expectations,  that  no  poor  man  can  afford 
to  have  more  than  five  acres  and  pay  cash  for  it,  and  only 
those  who  have  a  chance  to  pile  up  credits  for  their  work, 
can  use  their  forty  acres.     They  will  compose  the  landed 


—188— 

aristocracy  on  equality  ground.  The  bottom  rail  will  be 
on  top,  while  the  original  design  will  fall  flat  by  com- 
pulsion of  circumstances,  showing  the  absurd  side  of  co- 
operation turned  on  edge. 

This  is  only  the  product  of  unbalanced  pessimistic 
traits  cropping  out  in  the  human  mind  that  has  made  life 
a  battle  from  the  earliest  record  up  to  the  present  time. 
No  nation  or  people,  no  matter  how  well  disposed  to  have 
peace  and  harmony,  can  exist  long  without  intrusion  from 
some  quarter.  They  must  meet  the  foe,  beat  him  or  be 
beaten. 

Only  recently  the  general  manager  said,  in  a  sarcastic 
letter  to  one  of  the  Denver  members:  ^'Do  your  best,  in 
your  schemes  to  down  us,  and  we  will  meet  you  half 
way."  This  is  a  fine  spirit  to  exhibit  in  a  mutual  interest 
enterprise  that  needs  every  spoke  in  the  wheel  to  sustain 
the  load.  It  looks  as  though  they  wanted  to  antagonize 
for  a  purpose  that  is  behind  all  they  do.  Who  knows 
what  this  purpose  is,  that  stimulates  them  to  act  so 
arrogantly?  There  is  cause  for  suspicion  that  the  al- 
mighty dollar  is  lurking  in  some  place  not  far  distant, 
ready  to  jump  into  placed  hands  that  are  moved  by  a  mind 
as  false  as  Old  Nick  was  ever  painted,  and  we  know  we 
have  some  that  would  sell  their  souls  for  a  mess  of  pot- 
tage, regardless  of  the  suffering  man  or  woman  who  has 
put  hard  earned  dollars  into  this,  believing  that  it  would 
at  some  future  time,  give  them  a  home,  safe  from  the 
spoilsman  and  trustman  that  never  works  but  lives  on  the 
toil  of  others,  and  we  warn  the  member  who  dares  barter 
to  sell  our  enterprise  out  to  any  monopoly  or  corporation, 
so  that  a  few  individuals  may  reap  a  part  of  the  spoils 
cast  to  them  for  their  traitorous  part,  played  in  robbing 
others,  equally,  if  not  more  interested  than  they. 


^    ..      —189— 

This  is  presidential  election  year  again,  and  the  prin- 
cipals pf  elected  and    defeated    candidates   of    1896,  are 

.  .almqst  certain  to  be  nominated  at  the  coming  convention. 
President  McKinley  on  the  Kepublican  side  and  that 
greatest  living  An^ieri pan,  ^W.  J.  Bryan,  on  the  Demo- 
cratic. Just  who  will  be  chosen  on  either  side  as  vice- 
president  ,  is  as  yet  quite  uncertain.  There  are  many 
possible    names    mentioned.       Among    these    are    Gov. 

,  Roosevelt  of  JS  ew  York,  as  a  war  horse  hero  of  rougrhrider 
f^me,,  in  the  Spanish  War,  on  the  Republican,  and  Fred. 
Williams  of  Massachusetts^  or  Town  send.  Silver  Repub- 
Uca,n,  of  ^Minnesota,  ^on  the  Democratic  side.  Either  of 
them  ^re  able  men  and  statesmen,  far  superior  to  Roosevelt 
and  are  soljd  for  silver  and    against   imperialism".       Mr. 

,  Bryan,  h^s  made  many  friends  in  the  past  year  by  mingling 
witl^  the  people,  in  all  sections  of  our  country.     His  plain 

.   rnatte,r-of-:^act  arguments  are  convincing,  to  any  man  that 

,  has,  a  heg,d  and  brain  that  can  stop  to  think.  He  has  the 
.happy  faculty  of  .never  losing  his  teniper  or  giving  him- 
self , away.  un(;ler  ^^y  impulse,  or  allowing  anyone  to  lead 
him  .  into  saying  somethings  that  could  be  used  in  a 
campaign  ..contest  against  him,  and  he  tells  the  truth. 

few, men, are  so  w^ll  j^ised  as  Mr.  Bryan.  No  other 
man  has  ever,  made  so  many  speeches  in  so  short  a  time  as 
he,  And  notinade  some  slip  between  the,  cup  and  the  lip, 
in  som^  unguarded  moment,  or  allowed  some  one  to  do  it 
fo|r  him.  Hjs  clean,  character  is  much  in  his  favor,  and 
J;iis  .determination  to  hold  himself  above  reproach,  is  a 
pqwe,r,  when  there  are  so  many  worthy  men  that  are  be- 
smirched^ by  some  act  that  is  eternally  haunting  them. 

,  Sterling  Morton  made  an  attempt  to  besmirch  Mr. 
Bryan  by  stating  that  he  had  old  letters  in  which  he  was 
quoted  as  saying  he  wanted  some  small  office  in  Nebraska 


—190— 

for  the  money  that  was  in  it,  and  was  asking  Mr.  Morton's 
assistance  to  get  this  office.  At  that  time  Mr.  Bryan  was 
a  young  attorney,  who  had  come  to  Lincoln,  Nebraska,  to 
make  a  start  in  life,  and  Mr.  Morton  thought  he  carried 
Nebraska  in  his  vest  pocket,  at  least  the  Democratic  part 
of  it,  still  they  never  took  much  stock  in  him,  outside  of 
Otoe  County,  and  they  got  very  tired  of  his  dictatorship  and 
deserted  him,  one  by  one,  until  he  had  only  a  few  that 
could  see  his  greatness  and,  when  he  accepted  the  crumb 
of  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  under  that  gold-monger, 
Cleveland,  he  had  to  be  a  gold  bug,  and  swallow  all  his 
former  intentions  of  ever  being  a  silver  candidate. 

To  do  Cleveland's  bidding  as  a  gold  man,  he  must 
talk  and  write  and  on  one  occasion,  he  made  himself  more 
despised,  as  he  plainly  exhibited  his  ignorance  as  a  puppet, 
under  power  of  that  most  miserable  pretense  of  a  man, 
who  was  then  president  and  got  his  price  as  traitor  to  his 
party  or  that  part  of  it  that  voted  for  him  in  conjunction 
with  the  money  power  that  had  him  pledged  for  his  second 
term,  to  do  their  dirty  work,  and  no  president  of  our 
nation  ever  went  out  of  the  White  House  with  less  regrets 
than  he  did  with  his  pile  of  gold.  If  he  had  had  any 
respect  for  himself  he  would  have  gone  to  some  far-off 
country  and  secluded  himself  from  the  nation  he  had  dis- 
graced. 

It  is  not  much  different  with  McKinley  except  that 
he  is  not  a  drunken  bloat,  dulled  to  all  sensibility  to 
everything  that  is  decent  in  manhood,  if  he  is  a  purchased 
president.  But  what  a  tool  he  is,  ati  automatic  man  run 
by  machinery,  oiled  by  the  sweat  of  millions,  who  must 
labor  under  disadvantages  made  by  the  power  that  gave 
him  office,  and  now  the  blood  of  the  far-off  Philippines 
must  flow  and  the  American  tax  payer  must  wiggle  under 


—191— 

the  burden  to  carry  out  the  behests  of  this  same  grasping, 
grinding  machinery  that  is  fast  floating  our  country  to 
the  end  of  freedom,  (only  in  name) 

Millions  will  again  come  forth  to  elect  the  same  tool 
that  has  served  them  so  well,  and  fools  will  bind  them- 
selves in  chains,  a  few  links  tighter  than  before  if  their 
votes  will  count  to  do  it,  some  for  a  few  dollars,  some 
from  ignorance  of  the  real  situation,  and  many  for  the 
party  that  never  had  any  too  good  a  name  for  honor  and 
integrity,  and  now  has  none.  Yet  thousands  cannot  drop 
from  it.  Though  they  saw  the  country  sinking  and  them- 
selves hungry  and  in  rags,  they  would  lay  it  to  some 
other  cause. 

Mr.  Bryan,  if  elected  with  a  decent  congress  behind 
him,  would  revolutionize  the  whole  system  and  make  it  so 
uncomfortable  for  the  trusts,  corporations,  banks  and 
imperialists,  that  they  would  lose  their  power  and  seek 
new  fields  to  plant  their  dishonor  in.  England  is  best 
suited  for  gents  of  their  rank.  No  other  country  would 
want  them  or  tolerate  them.  Not  even  the  Turks  would 
be  disgraced  by  such  men. 

The  Admiral  Dewey  presidential  boom  met  with 
such  universal  coldness  that  it  died  at  birth.  It  was  so 
unexpected,  coming  from  a  man  that  had  so  emphatically 
repudiated  all  thought  or  desire  of  such  intention,  on 
many  occasions,  giving  good  sound  reasons  why  he  did 
not  want  any  such  honor  heaped  upon  him,  as  he  had  all 
he  desired  in  that  line  and  was  satisfied,  that  he  was  not  a 
politician  and  had  no  desire  to  be  one,  and  people  took 
him  at  his  word  believing  that  he  meant  just  what  he 
said,  no  more  nor  less,  as  they  judged  by  his  actions 
that  gained  him  his  renown  as  a  man  of  few  words,  and 
those  full  of  meaning  that  could  not  be  mistaken. 


^      —192— 

But  this  hero  has    his  weakness  like  niGst]  men  and 

flattery!  has  brought'   it    to    light,    and  ,  he   has  made  his 

sseveral  niistakes,  first  in  accepting  ,the  Washington  home 

as  a-gift  from  a  few  enthusiasts  and,  then i deeding  it  to  his 

'  newly  married,  wife,  who.  was  wealthy  in  ;her  own  right. 

'  This  lititle  episode  should  have  taught  him  a  lesspn  to  look 

'  well- before    he    leapedy   when    he  , was  .dealing  with  the 

public. 

'  '"  The  Am-erican  people-can  turn- more  summersaults  in 
a  shorter  time  and  for  less  provocation  than  any  people  on 

'  earth.  Tf  some^man  lOr  woman  iclimbs  high  in  their  esti- 
mation,'they  go  wild  and  name,  all   the  children  after  that 

!  person  if  the  spell  lasts  long  enough.;  If  it  is  a  man  they 
want  tO' make  him;  president  whetherhe  is  a  statesman  or 
■not,  hence  we  have  had  a  lot ,  of  generals,  in  , that  high 
office;  Some  of  them  fi;lled  .the  ^position  creditably  and 
•ably,  while  others  only  passably..  ^u,t  if  this  man  makes 
a  few  unpopular  blunders,  they  can  send  him  on,  the  down 
grade  of  disgrace -and  obscurity  faster  than  anyone  ever 
dreamed  of.  The  >  press  ca.n  make  or  .unmake  sentiment 
with  such  freedom ;that  few  people  care  to,  place  their  feet 

I  on;  the  threshold  of  publicity,,  to  be  .kicked,  and  cuffed  by 

•-  some  anxious  reporter  that  wants  to  make  a  reputation  for 
himself,  regardless: of  how  miucjh  he  .may  injure  you  in 
S!Dm6  thoughtless  way. 

•  The  bubble  of  fame 'is  very  thin  and  brittle,  and  is 
more  enduring  after  one  is;  dead,    but    does  not  always 

•escape  rough'  usage'  theuu  >  DespoilerS'  are  always  on  the 
alert  and  their  jealousyi  piushes  -them,  to  dig  up  the  dead 

■  for  food  to 'Satisfy  that  abnormal  appetite  that  is  burning 
within  their  depraved  natures.  This. has  been  done  time 
and  aorain,  and  will  continue  while  time  lasts. 

Mr.  Dewey,  must  look  well. to  hi.s  ;laureU.i£  he  wishes 


—193— 

to  retain  them  untarnished,  and  a  presidential  canvas 
would  give  a  wider  field  for  opposition  to  manufacture 
scandal  that  he  never  dreamed  of,  out  of  shadows  of  truth 
and  if  he  still  hankers  for  more  honors,  he  may  reach  the 
end  of  his  Joys  in  sorrow,  as  U.  S.  Grant  did,  as  there  is 
such  a  state  of  mind  that  nothing  can  satisfy,  and  Grant 
reached  that  point  when  he  said  that  people  had  no 
gratitude.  He  was  like  a  spoiled  child  that  had  been 
humored  beyond  all  reason.  Every  honor  had  been 
heaped  upon  him,  yet  he  did  not  respect  the  people  that 
did  it,  enough  to  keep  sober  in  their  presence. 

As  I  have  said  before,  man  worship  is  repulsive  to 
me,  when  it  goes  beyond  a  certain  limit,  and  it  is  sense- 
less and  wrong  to  make  a  fool  of  a  man  that  might 
otherwise,  be  a  good  man.  True  greatness  would  not 
admit  of  sycophancy.  Washington,  Jefferson  and  some 
others  of  their  type  and  time  felt  above  this  lick-spittle 
fawning  that  is  so  common  in  our  country  now.  Only 
very  recently,  some  American  ladies  visited  Queen  Vic- 
toria for  the  purpose  of  raising  a  hospital  fund  for  English 
soldiers  in  South  Africa,  who  are  there  to  crush  out  the 
liberty  loving  people,  the  Boers,  for  no  other  cause  but 
greed  and  tyranny.  This  is  the  sort  of  sycophantic  mo- 
thers we  now  have  in  our  vaunted,  liberty  loving  America, 
where  this  same  nation  of  tyrants  tried  twice  to  conquer 
our  forefathers.     Oh  shame,  on  such  fawning  fools. 

This  coterie  of  soft-heads  felt  highly  honored  that 
they  were  admitted  into  her  majesty's  great  presence  and, 
when  returning,  bowed  themselves  out  backward.  Damn- 
able fools  that  the  fool-killer  missed   in   his  last  round. 

Many  years  ago  John  Yan  Buren,  son  of  President 
Martin  Yan  Buren  visited  England  and  had  the  young 
Queen  Yic's  invitation   to  call  at  the  palace  and  did  so, 


—194— 

and  when  ushered  into  her  angnst  presence,  she  extended 
her  hand  for  him  to  kiss  and  he  clasped  it  with  his,  and 
gave  her  a  square  kiss  in  the  mouth.  This  was  the  true 
American  style  that  should  always  prevail,  irrespective  of 
any  royal  blood  or  custom  of  royalists,  as  they  are  no 
more  and  no  better  than  other  people  and  are  very  likely 
to  be  much  worse  in  morals  and  all  that  constitutes  good 
people.  A  free  born,  true  American  would  never  place 
himself  in  a  position  to  require  him  to  truckle  for  favors 
of  such  far-fetched  mockery  that  has  held  sway  among 
these  titled  gentlemen. 

It  is  time  people  should  come  to  their  senses  and  see 
that  by  nature  we  are  all  born  free  and  equal,  and  one  is 
only  superior  to  another  by  their  deeds.  A  king,  a  queen, 
a  czar  or  emperor  is  of  no  superior  blood,  flesh  and  bones, 
than  you  or  any  other  decent  human  being  with  all  the 
toggery  that  you  can  hang  on  their  bodies  or  all  the  titles 
you  can  write  before  or  after  their  father's  and  mothei-'s 
names,  and  all  may  fall  short  of  making  them  good  or 
generous  in  the  calls  of  life. 

Mr.  Bryan  in  his  plain  apparel,  who  meets  his  fellow- 
man  on  common  ground  and  shakes  his  hand,  though  it 
may  be  rough  and  horny  from  daily  toil,  is  a  far  greater 
man  than  any  king  that  holds  his  title  by  inheritance  or 
the  shiftincr  of  conditions  that  throws  the  mantle  of  honor 
on  any  undeserving  shoulders,  that  they  never  earned. 
He  is  greater  by  a  higher  intelligence  and  sense  of  liuman 
rights,  that  mingles  with  his  fellow-man,  as  does  Mr- 
Bryan,  with  feelings  of  equality  not  known  or  felt  by  any 
potentate  that  ever  wore  regal  wool  or  a  silken  scarf,  and 
has  his  person  covered  with  unearned  badges  of  honor, 
and  I  sincerely  hope  to  see  Mr.  Bryan  made  president  of 
our  nation,  and  if  I  do,  will  not  have  cause  to  change  my 
opinion  of  him  as  a  man,  citizen  or  president. 


—  195— 

Thnrman,  of  Ohio,  was  my  ideal  for  that  high  posi- 
tion, but,  like  Henry  Clay  of  Kentucky,  fate  would  not 
allow  it.  Some  might  say  Destiny  was  against  them,  but 
availability  had  more  to  do  with  it.  They  were  truly  great 
men  and  statesmen,  well  equipped  for  the  position.  They 
were  generals  of  a  civil  sort,  that  should  outrank  the  mil- 
itary, as  one  is  earned  by  a  long  term  of  intellectual  tests, 
while  the  other  is  more  often  earned  in  a  single  act  or 
accident  that  favors  the  victor,  and  thousands  will  share  a 
part  if  properly  credited,  in  the  victory  that  served  to 
make  our  man  great,  while  the  private  dies  in  the  ditch 
and  the  subordinate  officers  stand  in  the  fore  and  the  great 
general  is  at  a  distance,  safe  from  harm,  dispatching  his 
orders.  This  is  a  trade,  learnead  as  mechanics  learn  a 
trade.  Some  are  good  and  skillful  while  others  are  indiff- 
erent. 

CHAPTER  XXXL 

This  great  gathering  of  wonders,  the  Paris  Exposition, 
is  now  open,  but  not  in  full  blast,  as  the  hordes  from  the 
way  off  countries,  have  not  begun  to  move,  and  only  the 
exhibitors'  agents  are  on  hand  to  arrange  goods  and  ma- 
chinery and  other  preliminaries  to  perfect  full  order  for 
the  million  eyes  to  see,  later  on.  The  genius  of  the 
French  people,  in  forecasting  big  exhibitions,  is  well 
understood  by  the  world,  and  the  Chicago  Exposition  of 
1893,  will  seem  tame  in  comparison  to  the  present  one. 
They  name  thirty-iive  wonders  that  are  unusual  in  con- 
ception, namely:  the  sea  beach,  water  pumped  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  miles,  a  great  telescope  that 
brings  the  moon  so  close  that  it  seems  but  one  mile  away, 
an  active  volcano,  the  palace  of  light,  with  walls  of  glass, 
studded  with  precious  stones,  a  subteranean  world,  show- 


—  196— 

ing  how  the  richest  gold  and  silver  mines  look  and  are 
worked,  a  diamond  worth  two  million,  an  enchanted  house 
with  everything  upside  down  where  people  seem  to  walk 
like  flies  on  the  ceiling,  moving  sidewalks  on  which  you 
can  stand  still  and  see  the  whole  exposition,  a  statue  of 
solid  gold  worth  two  hundred  thousand  dollars,  the  bot- 
tom of  the  ocean  with  a  sunken  ship  and  strange  subma- 
rine life,  the  American  corn  palace  with  walls  of  corn 
stalks  and  tower  of  corn  cobs,  a  monster  wheel,  twice  the 
size  of  the  Ferris  wheel,  the  Eifel  tower  one  thousand  feet 
high,  a  wine  cask  forty-tive  feet  high,  a  dancing  pavilion 
on  its  end;  these  are  a  few  of  those  specially  named  won- 
ders of  man's  genius,  which  comes  with  the  years  of 
progress. 

In  my  short  life  time!  have  seen  wonderful  improve- 
ments, from  the  lumbering  old  stage  coach  to  the  palace 
car,  on  which  you  can  have  every  comfort  of  a  hotel,  and 
fly  along  at  the  rate  of  a  mile  a  minute,  with  safety;  from 
the  old  single  engine  steamboat  from  which  you  could 
hear  the  escaping  steam  four  hours  before  the  boat  came 
in  sight  to  the  double  engine  palace  that  will  skim  along 
in  silence:  from  the  old  waterlogged  ship  to  the  great 
steamer  of  Ave  thousand  horse  power  engines  that  cross 
the  ocean  in  a  few  days,  when  it  formerly  took  weeks,  and 
sometimes  months,  if  they  had  calms,  head  winds,  or 
storms;  from  the  slow  mail  to  telegraphy,  from  single  to 
triple  message,  then  telephones,  so  you  can  distinguish 
the  voice  of  your  friend,  a  thousand  miles  away  and  chat 
as  though  you  were  face  to  face,  and  the  phonograph, 
that  imitates  any  sound  made  into  its  recepter;  from  the 
old  tallow  dip  candles,  for  light,  along  the  line  of  cam- 
phine,  to  coal  oil;  from  coal  and  water  gas  to  electric 
liorht;    from   the  old   street    omnibus    to    horse  cars,  and 


—197— 

from  cable  to  electric  and  compressed  air  and  soon  we  will 
have  automobiles  that  will  run  independent  of  tracks  or, 
wires  along  common  roads,  and  stop  on  either  side  of  the 
street  for  passengers,  and  the  nuisance  of  horses  to  draw 
vehicles  will  die  and  be  of  the  past  in  cities.  They  are  a 
dangerous  dirty  nuisance,  that  will  be  good  riddance  in 
many  respects,  and  when  the  old  rumbling  iron-tired 
wagon  is  relegated  to  the  country  or  put  away,  that  will 
stop  the  eteraal  noise  that  is  irritating  in  a  crowded  city, 
and  I  am  glad  to  see  the  rubber  tire  innovations  in  many 
lif>*ht  vehicles  and  carriages.  A  good  substitute  for  rub- 
ber will  soon  be  on  the  market,  that  need  not  be  taken 
from  trees  in  some  far-away  t?'opical  climate  in  limited 
quantities. 


In  some  things  the  world  moves  rapidly;  in  others, 
oh,  how  slow!  So  many  that  would  be  optimistic  in  their 
sentiments  and  actions  are  held  in  obeyance  to  the  pessi- 
mistic sentiment  on  certain  subjects  that  have  worn  out 
its  usefulness,  if  it  ever  had  any,  long  years  ago.  I  have  . 
just  read  a  Swiss  gentleman's  opinion  of  the  Yankee  as  he 
terms  all  Americans  (this  is  his  mistake)  and  he  is  much 
surprised  as  to  our  honor  as  compared  with  the  precon- 
ceived opinions  formed  of  us  which  prevail  in  his  own  and 
other  countries,  that  we  are  a  rude  set  of  people,  cheats 
and  scoundrels,  and  that  one  is  hardly  safe  on  public  high- 
ways, or  in  the  hands  of  our  officials. 

In  all  this  he  was  agreeably  disappointed,  as  he  says 
he  found  himself  free  to  go  where  he  pleased  and  was 
treated  kindly  and  civilly.  If  this  was  so  evident  to  him 
in  the  North  Eastern  States,  had  he  traveled  to  the  far 
Western  and  Southern  States,  he  would  have  had  a  great- 
er admiration  for  American  urbane  outspoken  civility 
than  he  has  expressed. 


—198— 

It  is  a  noticeable  fact  that  a  cold  shyness  prevails  the 
farther  East  one  goes,  traveling  from  the  West.  The  peo- 
ple act  cold  and  suspicious  of  strangers  of  their  own 
nationality  and  gentility.  You  can  hardly  lead  them  into 
any  conversation  and  they  will  answer  a  direct  question 
with  the  fewest  possible  words.  They  seem  locked  up  in 
their  own  affairs  or  are  afraid  of  confidence  men  playing 
them. 

This  is  far  different  in  the  West.  They  have  no 
pinched  indifference  about  them.  There  is  a  healthy 
freedom  in  their  looks  and  actions  that  betoken  a  hale 
fellow  well  met,  ready  to  oblige  you  in  any  reasonable 
way,  share  their  lunch,  divide  their  beds,  tobacco  and 
cigars.  They  are  not  afraid  of  being  taken  in,  feel  able 
to  take  care  of  themselves  if  the  stranger  manifests  any 
disposition  to  go  beyond  the  line  of  demarcation  of  a 
gentleman.  They  are  happy  themselves  and  wish  all 
others  to  share  with  them. 

The  Southern  gentleman  is  of  a  different  style,  full 
of  hospitality  and  kindness,  easy  of  approach,  despises 
conventional  customs  and  pinched-up  meaness,  glories  in 
his  family  blood,  is  easy  to  offend  and  strong  in  his  resent- 
ment of  a  wrong,  and  often  goes  to  the  extreme  in  retali- 
ation. This  is  one  of  his  greatest  faults,  aside  from  his 
bluster  and  pride.  He  is  a  good  companion  and  friend  that 
you  can  rely  on  in  most  cases. 

This  Sw^iss  critic  spoken  of,  hits  some  of  our  faults 
squarely  and  one  of  these  he  names,  is  our  thirst  for  gold. 
He  says  this  desire  leads  the  investigator  of  us  to  think 
we  are,  as  a  class,  dishonest.  Another  fault  is  our  lack 
of  moral  courage  to  be  outspoken  about  religion,  especially 
so  when  we  are  in  business  that  may  be  affected  by  our 


—  199— 

avowal  of  beliefs  or  disbeliefs  that  may  antagonize  pop- 
ular opinion.  He  says  an  atheist  would  say  grace  at  the 
table  in  contradiction  to  his  own  opinions.  This  is 
hypocritical,  if  true,  and  I  am  inclined  to  believe  it  has 
many  grains  of  truth  in  it,  as  I  have  experienced  some 
such  many  times  when  I  said,  for  one,  I  did  not  accept 
the  Bible  as  an  inspired  book,  that  I  did  not  know  much 
or  care  much  about  it  one  way  or  the  other,  those  that 
chose  to  believe  in  it  were  welcome  to  all  they  could  get 
out  of  it.  I  have  shocked  men  that  had  no  ear  marks  of 
religion  in  their  actions  or  life  persuits,  and  never  had. 
They  were  loose  and  not  honorable  or  humanitarian  and 
never  thought  of  the  golden  rule  as  a  compact  between 
man  and  man,  as  necessary  or  obligatory  on   themselves. 

In  our  opinion  there  is  no  higher  cast  of  religion 
than  this  rule  teaches.  It  covers  all  the  ground  that  leads 
to  unselfishness  and  if  we  could  unself  ourselves,  harmony 
and  good  will  would  exist  between  us  and  that  would  fit 
us  for  any  condititon  that  an  after-life  would  require. 
It  would  be  a  heaven  on  earth  certainly  as  compared  to 
anything  known  to  man,  as  all  history  has  told  of  strife 
and  wars  and  there  would  never  be  war,  only  because  of 
our  selfishness.  The  money  is  the  root,  tree  and  branch 
of  all  evil  acts.  They  are  one  in  the  bond  that  makes 
misery,  and  who  can  tell  what  it  is  all  for,  when  all  things 
tell  us  this  world  is  but  a  fleeting  show  to  man's  delusion 
given,  and  that  all  we  may  gather  about  us  is  only  bor- 
rowed from  the  storehouse  of  nature,  while  the  lamp  of 
life  burns.  When  our  light  is  turned  out  there  is  a 
scramble  for  what  we  have  left  behind  and  we  are  soon 
forgotten  by  the  new  stage  managers  who  set  the  play  to 
suit  themselves,  not  respecting  our  wishes  in  matters  they 
think  do  not  concern  us. 


—200— 

The  unending  generations  come  and  go  like  the 
seasons,  that  cover  the  earth  with  verdure  in  the  Spring 
to  give  beauty  for  a  short  time,  then  to  be  blasted  and 
turned  back  to  earth  again  by  the  frost  of  time,  fulfilling 
the  law  of  reproduction  that  nature  forces  upon  all  that 
live  and  die. 

All  this  must  have  a  purpose  that  reaches  beyond  all 
that  we  can  see  or  know  here,  and  it  resolves  into  the 
thought,  if  a  man  dies  shall  he  live  again?  And  how? 
And  where?  And  for  what  purpose?  Is  it  for  his  own 
pleasure  and  good,  or  for  a  higher  aim  than  that  which 
has  crippled  and  deformed  him  here?  If  all  this  that 
individualizes  us  here  is  lost  in  transition,  will  it  be  for 
all  eternity  or  shall  it  finally  make  a  full  rounded  ego  of 
all  the  links  of  a  perfect  chain  of  life?  This  is  our  nat- 
ural thought  of  this  great  mystery  that  veils  our  intellect. 

Soliloquizing  about  this  that  concerns  us  most  when 
we  are  through  here,  we  wonder  if  we  are  never  to  grad- 
uate and  have  something  to  say  about  our  own  destiny,  or 
are  we  to  be  mere  puppits  in  the  hands  of  a  master 
manipulator  that  moves  us  on  and  on,  call  it  God,  if  you 
please,  nature  or  force  of  nature,  any  pet  name  that  is 
fitted  to  this  wonderful  cosmic  of  the  universe  and  we  the 
little  toys  that  play  our  part  and  depart. 

As  to  onr  coining,  going  or  staying,  it  seems  of  little 
matter  beyond  our  immediate  selves,  or  families.  The 
small  speck  of  our  entity  is  like  a  drop  of  water  on  the 
ocean's  bosom.  It  makes  but  one  little  ripple  and  is  dis- 
solved in  the  great  body  and  becomes  a  part  of  the  whole 
and  some  are  of  the  opinion  that  we  as  spirits  may  be 
massed  in  the  same  way,  but  to  our  minds  our  own  indi- 
viduality must  never  be  lost  or  be  interwoven  so  as  to  lose 


—201— 

our  identification    or    personality,    which,  to    the  human 
mind,  is  our  gift  or  inheritance  that  should  never  leave  us. 

This  may  be  bigotry  on  our  part  as  in  our  ignorance 
of  what  the  future  might  be,  we  are  not  capable  of  judg- 
ing from  our  standpoint  whether  we  would  be  like  a  new 
born  child  in  this  and  would  be  moulded  to  suit  new 
conditions,  and  not  care  for  that  which  we  adhered  to  and 
enjoyed  here.  The  new  birth  is  often  spoken  of  by 
dealers  with  the  future,  in  which  it  is  somewhat  ambigu- 
ous as  to  meaning.  Some  say  it  is  accepting  religion  that 
is  necessary  for  a  through  ticket  on  their  particular  road 
to  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  where  they  speak  of  angels 
harps  and  gold  paved  streets  that  would  meet  a  goldbug's 
ideal  of  Heaven,  only  the  pavement  would  be  in  danger 
and  he  miglit  form  a  trust  on  harps  and  angel  wings. 

For  our  part  we  are  willing  to  accept  what  comes, 
even  if  it  is  nonentity,  as  we  came  here  without  being  con- 
sulted and  have  not  fared  badly.  We  are  willing  to 
accept  the  change,  whatever  it  may  be,  and  take  chances 
on  our  chosen  road  for  safety.  If  any  change  in  opinion 
takes  place  after  one  has  lived  past  three  score  and  ten  and 
two  years,  something  very  much  stronger  in  evidence 
must  come  than  ever  has  been  presented,  while  younger 
and  more  susceptible  opinions  are  things  that  cannot  be 
bartered  and  changed,  if  they  are  founded  on  experience 
and  are  of  any  value  and  not  substantially  built  on  fanati- 
cism and  superstition. 

The  proof  sheets  of  time  make  our  own  opinions  and 
they  become  a  part  of  us  and  we  would  be  a  blank  sheet 
without  them  and  nothing  seems  so  flat  and  uninteresting 
as  senility,  without  opinions  or  knowledge,  a  mere  living 
machine  that  gathers  no  moss  in  the  journey  of  life.  The 
phonograph  can  hold  great  speeches  on  its  parafine  roller, 


—202— 

and  can  hold  the  record  in  little  tiny  markings  for  ages 
and  repeat  in  exactness.  Why  should  man,  the  maker, 
be  less  than  the  machine?  The  unfortunate  idiot  has  our 
sympathy.  It  might  have  been  our  own  fate.  The  once 
intelligent  but  now  insane  being  causes  more  sympathy. 

What  does  the  oft  repeated  saying  of  a  ripened  old 
age  mean  if  one  does  not  store  up  knowledge  and  have 
opinions.  My  old,  revered  friend,  Mr.  Alexander  Majors, 
mentioned  in  the  fore  part  of  this  sketch,  and  who  has 
since  passed  away  from  us,  in  his  eighty-fourth  year,  in 
Chicago,  was  a  man  of  ripened  years  in  the  full  sense  of 
the  term.  When  a  young  man  and  until  sixty,  he  was  a 
fervent  religionist,  so  much  so  that  he  distributed  Mis- 
sionary Bibles  by  the  thousand  to  those  he  employed  and 
at  Sunday  School  he  attended,  where  his  large  business 
took  him,  all  over  the  West.  But  a  change  came  over 
this  enthusiast  in  religious  matters.  He  became  a  free- 
thinker and  was  extremely  liberal  in  all  his  views. 

He  told  me  personally  that  he  had  found  reason  for 
this  radical  change  and  was  glad  that  he  had  gotten  his 
eyes  open  and  nothing  would  cause  him  to  retract.  He 
was  the  same  good  man  of  former  years,  full  of  good  cheer, 
always  saying  when  passing  a  friend,  that  he  never  felt 
better  in  his  life.  His  little  book,  "Seventy  Years  in  the 
Far  West,"  is  very  interesting  and  instructive  and  very 
truthful,  and  it  is  worth  anyone's  time  to  read  it. 

Strange  to  say,  Mr  Majors  never  had  any  school 
education  and  when  doing  a  large  business,  employing  live 
thousand  men,  filling  large  contracts,  he  could  only  sign 
his  name  mechanically.  Later  on  he  learned  to  read,  and 
a  more  interesting  man  to  converse  with,  it  was  hard  to 
find,  using  good  language  and  having  tine  descriptive 
powers.     He  was  a  self  made    man   who  would  forge  to 


—203— 

the  front  and  be  respected  by  all  men  as  he  was  honest, 
truthful  and  kind.  He  is  another  of  that  class  of  men 
that  pioneered  the  West  and  founded  towns  and  cities  for 
the  coming  generations.  They  are  passing  away,  one  by 
one,  having  done  their  part,  and  will  live  in  history. 
Peace  and  good  will  to  them. 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 

1  must  not  forget  to  say  something  about  the  risk  of 
mining  and  my  blind  nephew,  William  Redman. 

It  is  no  uncommon  item  of  news  to  see  recorded  in 
our  daily  press  that  some  one  has  been  blown  up,  or  has 
fallen  down  a  mine  shaft,  by  the  breaking  of  a  rope  or 
ladder  on  which  they  descend  and  ascend  from  their  work. 
The  handling  of  high  explosives  is  never  safe,  yet  miners 
become  careless  and  often  lose  their  lives  or  are  maimed 
for  life.  The  warming  process  of  dynamite  in  warm 
water  or  in  their  hands,  to  soften  it,  is  like  risking  life. 
Again  they  attempt  to  pick  out  an  unlired  shot  which  is 
in  the  way,  which  is  very  dangerous  work,  as  the  least 
jar  may  explode  the  death-dealing  stuff. 

Sometimes  a  shot  will  linger  so  long  without  explod- 
ing that  the  miner  feels  sure  it  is  dead  and  may  get  near 
it,  under  this  belief,  and  lose  his  life,  or  be  torn  almost 
to  pieces  and  live.  This  was  the  fate  of  my  nephew. 
He  lost  both  eyes  and  his  face  was  tilled  with  little  bits  of 
stone,  his  nose  split  and  left  arm  broken  in  a  dozen  places. 

He  and  his  partner  were  doing  what  is  termed  assess- 
ment work  on  an  unpatented  claim.  So  much  work  must 
be  done  each  year  to  hold  the  claim  by  law  or  it  is  in 
jeopardy  and  is  liable  to  a  reiiling.  This  claim  was  some 
distance  from  other  mining  camps  and  difficult  to  reach 


—204— 

in  the  rugged  mountain  side,  not  far  from  a  precipice,  and 
when  the  poor  man  found  he  could  not  see  he  begged  his 
partner  to  put  him  out  of  his  misery,  and  while  his  part- 
ner had  gone  for  help  to  carry  him  down  from  this  pre- 
cipitious  place,  he  tried  to  crawl  over  the  steepest  place  so 
he  might  end  his  life  but,  in  his  confusion,  could  not  find 
it.  The  help  came  and  with  great  difficulty  they  got  him 
to  Alma,-  ir'ark  County,  Colorado.  There  a  physician  did 
the  best  he  knew,  in  dressing  his  many  wounds. 

His  cousin,  T.  E.  Meanea,  of  Denver,  on  the  call  of  a 
telegram,  went  immediately  after  him  and  brought  him  to 
his  home  on  Platte  St.  and  called  a  German  surgeon  of 
some  renown,  but  it  was  a  failure  as  no  poor  man  suffered 
more  from  not  having  a  skilled  surgeon,  than  he,  and  he 
might  have  lost  his  life,  only  this  miserable  pretender  got 
thrown  from  his  horse  and  so  crippled  himself  that  he 
could  not  tend  him  and  sent  his  partner,  a  worse  quack  if 

ible,  than  himself. 


This  caused  a  change  of  doctors  and  they  condemned 
the  treatment  he  had  received  and  said  blood  poisoning 
had  taken  place  and  that  the  end  was  not  far.  But  in 
their  great  wisdom,  they  consulted  and  determined  to 
amputate  his  broken  arm  to  save  his  life.  We  all  pro- 
tested against  this  move  and  he  got  well  in  spite  of  five 
butchers  that  bandaged  too  tight  and  gave  poison  that 
would  have  killed  any  but  one  with  an  iron  constitution. 
That  arm  and  hand  have  been  of  much  service  to  him  in 
his  darkened  life.  Outside  of  the  doctors,  no  one  could 
have  had  better  or  more  careful  nursing  than  he  had  from 
his  cousin,  brothers,  aunt  and  cousin's  wife.  When  he  got 
80  he  could  travel  he  went  to  his  father's  home  in  Mar- 
shall, Missouri,  and  after  a  time,  found  a  young  lady  that 
was  willing  to  make  many  sacrifices    to    marry    him   in 


—205— 

his  sad  condition,  and  to  them  was  born  a  son  who  is  now 
nine  years  old  and  a  great  comfort  to  his  parents  and  the 
home  is  made  more  cheerful  by  his  young,  bright  life, 
that  entered  in  where  it  is  much  needed. 

Mr.  Redman  was  a  very  ambitious  young  man  when 
this  great  calamity  came  upon  him  to  darken  his  life. 
Though  totally  blind  and  a  cripple,  his  mind  was  active 
and  he  still  hoped  to  gain  from  his  mine  near  Alma,  known 
as  the  Champion,  a  competency  that  would  give  him  the 
comforts  of  life,  and  not  having  means  to  develop  it,  he 
formed  a  company  and  sold  stock  which  gave  him  con- 
siderable cash,  and  the  mine  was  leased  and  is  now  being 
worked  to  some  advantage  to  all  concerned,  and  may  in 
time  prove  a  valuable  mine  as  it  has  all  the  indications  to 
make  it  one. 

On  the  basis  of  his  prospects  he  got  married  and 
built  a  home  in  Marshall.  He  had  considerable  money 
due  him  from  parties  in  and  about  Alma,  and  had  some 
cash  loaned  to  an  old  friend  of  his  father  and  the  family, 
but  not  secured,  only  by  note,  and  this  old  friend  failed 
and  never  made  an  effort  to  save  this  helpless  man,  and 
has  ignored  the  debt  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars  entirely, 
and  others  took  advantage  of  his  situation  to  defraud  him. 
This  shows  plainly  to  the  world  that  some  people  are 
masquerading  under  the  guise  of  honesty  until  an  oppor- 
tunity comes  to  show  their  real  character. 

These  are  the  people  who,  when  in  distress  themselves, 
cry  aloud  for  help  and  find  great  fault  with  all  who  do 
not  come  to  their  aid.  If  the  X-rays  could  be  made 
strong  enough  to  penetrate  the  grey  matter  that  makes  a 
man  a  rogue,  and  have  him  branded  by  order  of  his  gov- 
ernment, it  would  be  of  great  benefit  to  those  who  are 
honest  and  willing  to  earn  all  they  get. 


—206— 

The  honest  man  is  taxed  in  every  conceivable  way  to 
guard  himself  against  the  rogues,  courts,  juries,  sheriff's 
police,  jails,  penitentiaries,  safes,  etc.,  and  his  home  is 
invaded.     Nothintr  is  safe  from   the  intrusion  of  this  wolf 

o 

in  sheep's  clothing. 


The  little  paper,  started  by  the  members  of  the  Den- 
ver Club,  in  relation  to  colony  matters,  has  out  its  second 
issue,  and  matter  for  the  third  issue,  as  the  first  stirred  up 
the  whole  nest  of  hornets  to  say  something  in  the  last 
"Altrurian,"  that  needs  the  attention  of  "Equality,"  to 
tell  them  of  their  short-comings,  and  if  they  retaliated  in 
the  first  issue,  the  second  one  will  set  them  wild  as  it  is 
full  of  facts  and  figures,  taken  from  their  own  reports  of 
their  great  business  effort,  which  they  cannot  explain  by 
any  juggling,  such  as  has  been  swallowed  by  some  and 
overlooked  by  others  in  the  past. 

Mr.  Gibbs  attempts  to  lay  the  fault  on  the  printers 
but  that  will  not  go,  as  we  have  his  written  report,  which 
corresponds  to  the  one  published  in  the  colony  organ,  and 
no  expert  has  been  able  to  tell  from  his  figures  what  he 
means,  yet  this  distant  correspondent  living  in  Brooklyn, 
N.  Y.,  extols  this  management  to  the  skies,  and  finds 
fault  with  what  I  wrote  him  three  years  ago,  about  the 
progress  of  things  as  they  then  were  reported  to  me.  I 
could  only  give  him  what  I  had  and  gave  no  more  nor 
less.      • 

At  that  time  they  were  making  good  headway  with 
the  sort  of  ditch  they  had  decided  to  build  but  by  the  ad- 
vice of  some  one  more  experienced  in  the  weight  and 
pressure  of  water,  they  decided  to  change  to  a  more  solid 
and  enduring  plan  that  counted  for  much  more  labor  than 
the  first  projector  had    thought    of.       Now,    three  years 


—207— 

later,  a  wild-headed  Johnny  Englishman  takes  me  to  task 
for  this  report  to  him,  while  he  has  been  reading  the  col- 
ony paper  from  the  beginning  of  his  investigation  to  this 
time,  to  get  colony  information. 

Such  foolish  vaporings  should  not  be  noticed  by  me, 
but  as  this  book  will  contain  more  colony  data  than  will 
be  put  in  print  by  anyone  else,  I  wanted  to  set  myself 
right,  before  those  who  are  interested.  All  the  old  guards 
who  do  not  know  just  where  they  stand  are  hesitating,  while 
the  Denver  contingent  have  come  to  the  front,  and  caused 
them  to  chatter  like  parrots  and  monkeys  to  counteract 
facts. 

"Just  what  we  wanted,"  said  one.  Let  the  philoso- 
phers tell  their  own  tale.  If  they  swear  a  horse  is  sixteen 
feet  high,  instead  of  sixteen  hands,  all  right.  It  will  only 
make  them  that  much  more  ridiculous  in  what  they 
attempt  to  make  the  stockholder  believe,  and  may  set 
some  of  them  to  thinking  and  finally,  to  acting.  We 
have  no  object  but  to  save  the  colony  from  final  collapse 
and  the  loss  of  one  of  the  best  opportunities  ever  pre- 
sented to  the  poor  people. 

CHAPTER  XXXIIT. 

Looking  backward  to  youth,  within  the  past  few  days 
I  have  met  a  lady  acquaintance  of  my  youthful  days. 
She  married  at  the  age  of  sixteen  and  left  St.  Louis,  for 
Fairfield,  Iowa,  soon  after  and  we  have  never  met  until 
now.  Fifty-one  years  have  passed  over  our  heads  in  that 
interval,  and  we  are  both  well  and  cheerful  as  in  youth. 
Both  have  had  our  sad  experiences  and  our  pleasures. 
Both  have  seen,  one  by  one,  our  relatives  and  friends  pass 
away  until  we  stand  as  lonely  as  an  old  oak  tree  bereft  of 


-208— 

its  limbs,  standing  alone  as  landmarks  of  onr  generation 
which  shared  our  joys,  fifty- one  years  ago. 

To  some  this  might  seem  a  sad  thought,  but  to  me 
it  is  all  right.  Being  inevitable  it  must  be  all  right,  or 
nature  would  not  so  decree  it. 

.  Henrietta  Fleishman,  now  Mrs  Cole,  was  a  handsome, 
vivacious,  young  girl,  full  of  hope  and  joy,  that  made  her 
company  very  fascinating  for  young  men  of  my  age.  Her 
mother  was  a  widow  left  to  care  for  a  mother,  herself  and 
three  children,  James,  Sublect  and  Henrietta,  the  middle 
one.  Time  and  death  scattered  them  as  the  Autumn 
leaves  are  scatted  after  a  chilling  frost  comes,  and  to-day 
we  meet  to  talk  over  those  that  were  friends  and  compan- 
ions of  the  long  past,  to  us  who  count  the  days,  months 
and  years,  in  our  calendar  of  life,  that  is  slipping  by  so 
silently,  yet  so  steadily. 

In  youth  we  were  impatient  to  reach  maturity. 
After  we  pass  the  meridian  and  get  on  the  down  grade, 
time  goes  too  fast  and  we  become  alarmed  at  our  velocity. 
We  watch  others  of  our  age,  as  time  marks  appear.  These 
mile  posts  are  plain,  as  each  decade  is  counted.  The  once 
erect,  elastic  form  begins  to  stoop,  and  we  lower  the  head, 
the  step  becomes  more  uncertain  and  finally  stiff  and 
clumsy  until  the  cane  is  a  constant  companion  and  aid. 
The  muscles  of  the  face  get  too  flabby  to  hold  the  flesh  in 
place.  The  once  brilliant,  full  eye  loses  its  charm  and 
almost  refuses  to  act  as  it  did  in  youth. 

If  we  did  not  get  used  to  ourselves  as  we  go  along, 
we  would  need  some  one  to  introduce  us  to  ourselves,  and 
as  strange  as  it  seems,  when  we  look  at  our  pictures  taken 
in  youth,  we  have  a  sensation  of  how  green  we  must  have 
looked  and  do  not  feel  so  bad  about  the  marks  that  have 
transformed  every  feature  from  one  extreme  to  the  other. 


—209— 

and  we  think  we  are  not  such  homely  creatures  after  all. 
if  the  house  in  which  we  live  is  sonnewhat  weather  beaten, 
Pride  lives  within  and  holds  the  citadel  as  of  yore. 

Henrietta  holds  her  own  very  well.  Old  Father 
Time  has  dealt  kindly  with  her,  giving  her  good  health,  a 
cheerful  and  happy  disposition  and  plenty  of  flesh  to 
round  up  with,  and  push  away  the  intruding  wrinkles 
that  are  modest  little  crow  feet  at  first,  but  deepen  so  on 
lean  faces  like  mine,  as  to  resemble  a  sweet  apple  that  had 
lingered  on  the  tree  all  winter  and  had  frozen  and  thawed 
out  a  number  of  times,  brown  and  drawn  up  with 
wrinkles. 

My  only  consolation  is  that  I  am  not  an  old  dandy, 
so  slick  and  smooth  that  a  fly  could  not  find  a  resting 
place  on  my  person.  Such  old  chaps  are  too  precise  to 
have  any  comfort  themselves  or  allow  anyone  else  to  enjoy 
life  and  are  generally  so  stiff  and  opinionated  that  they 
look  with  indifference  on  lesser  lights  that  may  come 
within  their  august  personal  range,  making  themselves 
more  disagreeable  than  young  fools. 

A  stuffy,  puffy,  nervous  old  man  or  woman  is  so 
cranky  that  one  must  laugh  low  or  only  smile,  in  his  or 
her  presence.  Such  a  one  is  a  nuisance  and  is  a  fit  subject 
for  the  embalmer.  When  a  boy,  I  resolved  if  I  lived  to 
old  age  there  would  be  one  old  man  that  would  not  be 
crusty  and  chilly  to  everything  about  him,  and  now  at  the 
age  of  seventy-two,  I  can  enjoy  the  company  of  old, 
young  or  middle  age  as  well  as  I  ever  did  in  my  life,  and 
can  enter  into  fun  and  joke  better  than  ever  before,  as 
my  age  gives  me  freedom  that  I  could  not  enjoy  before 
and  I  hope  this  will  continue  to  the  end  of  my  human 
life. 


—210— 

I  am  glad  to  see  my  old  friend,  Mrs.  Cole,  so  jolly 
and  up-to-date  in  all  her  views  about  life.  There  is  little 
left  for  us  to  live  for  if  we  get  soured  in  old  age.  Intel- 
ligence and  cheerfulness  are  our  only  attractive  features. 
The  younger  day  blush  has  gone.  We  are  looked  upon  as 
back  numbers  that  the  dust  of  time  has  settled  upon. 
Some  are  thoughtful  of  us,  while  others  have  no  respect 
for  gray  hairs  or  a  trembling  step  and  let  us  shift  for 
ourselves.  The  last  named  will  make  the  most  pitiful 
cry  for  help  when  their  time  comes  to  sip  from  the  cup 
that  is  being  prepared  for  them.  Then  only,  will  they 
realize. 

-Fortunately  for  myself,  I  have  not  needed  sympathy 
or  help  on  account  of  age  or  anything  of  that  nature.  I 
have  all  my  faculties  as  acute  and  vigorous  as  at  any  time 
in  my  life  and  hope  to  retain  them,  but  may  not.  No 
one  can  tell  what  may  come  in  a  day  or  moment.  Per- 
sonal independence  as  far  as  being  able  to  help  ourselves 
and  have  our  opinions  untrammeled  morally,  religiously 
or  politically,  is  a  great  boon.  One  that  must  speak  what 
he  believes  under  his  breath,  as  in  secret,  is  not  a  free 
person.     He  is  a  slave  to  other  people's  opinions. 

I  never  wish  to  offend  anyone  with  what  I  believe  or 
disbelieve.  That  is  not  my  intent  or  desire  at  any  time, 
but  I  am  so  plain  spoken  about  false  notions  that  prevail, 
when  all  should  see  them  as  they  would  the  noon  day  sun, 
that  I  am  perhaps  more  emphatic  in  my  expressions  than 
I  should  be,  but  i  have  very  little  policy  in  my  composi- 
tion and  what  1  think  is  not  hidden  or  cloaked,  from  fear, 
yet  no  one  has  more  tender  consideration  for  good  people 
than  myself,  especially  those  that  have  all  the  sorrows 
that  they  can  bear,  from  sickness  or  unavoidable  misfor- 
tune.    Those  in  health  and  affluence  can  care  for  themselves 


—211— 

and  do  not  need   sympathy  and   I  am  not  drawn  to  them. 

An  innocent  old  lady,  Grandma  Crabtree,  was  laid 
away  yesterday  (that  is,  her  aged  body  was)  at  Riverside 
Cemetery,  by  the  side  of  her  two  little  grandchildren,  Ella 
and  Jennie  Gallatin,  who  passed  away  some  years  ago. 
They  were  my  son's  and  her  daughter's  children  and  had 
their  lives  been  spared,  would  have  been  young  ladies  of 
seventeen  and  nineteen  years  of  age. 

This  kind,  charitable  old  lady  was  born  in  England, 
eighty  years  ago,  lacking  a  few  days.  Her  birth  was  not 
in  luxury  or  in  hope  of  a  crown  or  any  high  honor  from 
the  Queen's  hand,  but  to  labor  in  a  factory  and  be  satis- 
fied with  an  humble  life  and  what  pleasures  might  come 
through  her  family  and  friends.  Her  amiable  disposition 
always  brought  friends  and  admirers  and  many  tears  were 
shed  by  those  who  saw  her  placid  face  and  snow  white 
hair  for  the  last  time,  May  6th,  1900, 

The  vacant  chair  at  the  little  home,  at  my  son's, 
whose  roof  has  been  her  welcome  shelter  for  many  years, 
while  their  joys  were  her  joys,  their  sorrow  her  sorrow. 
The  care  of  the  children  and  their  safety  from  harm  was 
her  constant  thought,  to  the  last  moment  of  her  life. 
No  one  could  have  more  devotion  and  solicitude  than  she 
manifested  toward  Lida,  Albert  and  Joseph,  but  they,  as 
children,  do  not  fully  realize  what  has  gone  from  them  in 
warm  and  enduring  affection  that  came  from  a  true  heart. 
Her  dutiful  daughter,  Anna,  is  the  one  that  will  feel  more 
deeply  than  anyone  of  the  household.  Their  mutual  feel- 
ings and  interests  of  long  standing  had  united  them  in  a 
closer  bond  of  relationship  than  blood  alone  could  make, 
but  the  time  of  parting  was  long  deferred  by  Father  Time. 

His  call  is  never  quite  welcome  while  the  weary  body 
struggles  and  we  can   see  the  light  still  burning  and  feel 


—212— 

that  it  may  continue.  Hope  lingers  in  the  citadel  of  onr 
thoughts,  but  when  the  time  cord  is  cut  and  the  light 
goes  out  and  darkness  enters  in,  to  the  untutored  mind 
all  is  gloom.  Poor  old  grandma  will  find  her  place 
among  those  who  have  gone  before  and  take  up  her  new 
lamp  of  life  that  will  reveal  to  her  more  than  she  ev^er 
dreamed  of  in  this  life,  that  has  been  cramped  by  the 
duties  she  had  to  fill.  We  should  be  glad  that  she  does 
not  have  to  suffer  with  a  worn  out  body  longer.  Let  her 
take  on  new  conditions  and  prepare  a  place  for  those  she 
loved,  that  must  follow  her,  as  certainly,  as  the  leaves 
come  and  go  with  the  seasons.  Death  is  as  natural  as 
birth  and  just  as  necessary  in  the  economy  of  nature. 

The  early  teaching  of  the  churches  has  made  death  a 
great  chasm  of  uncertainty.  If  you  did  not  follow  their 
dogmatic  road  you  would  surely  go  wrong,  but  since  peo- 
ple read  and  think  for  themselves,  they  can  reason  out 
that  much  was  founded  on  man's  superstition  and  igno- 
rance, and  death  does  not  seem  so  black.  Now  they  bring 
flowers  and  do  many  things  that  would  have  been  considered 
sacrilegious  and  they  would  have  been  punished  with  some 
severe  punishment.  The  mourning  garb  is  gradually  dis- 
appearing, and  in  time  all  these  old  customs  of  sadness 
will  be  of  the  past  when  death  is  better  understood. 


CHAPTER   XXXIY. 

I  know  of  no  better  ending  for  my  sketch  than  a 
short  history  of  Billy  Gallatin,  as  we  called  him.  He 
was  an  Indian  pony  and  was  captured  from  the  chief  of 
the  Cheyennes,  Tall  Bull,  by  the  Fifth  U.  S.  Regiment  in 
Wyoming,  in  the  year  1868  or  1869.  It  was  quite  a 
battle  and  the  Indians    were    badly    routed.     Lieutenant 


—213— 

Mason  made  the  capture  of  the  Chiefs  race  horse  and 
Billy  and  brought  them  to  Fort  Russell,  near  the  city  of 
Cheyenne,  and  won  several  races  with  the  horse,  got  into 
some  trouble  and  was  killed  in  some  dispute  over  the  race. 
He  tried  to  make  a  race  with  the  pony  and  offered  to 
place  one  thousand  dollars  that  Billy  could  beat  any  pony 
in  Colorado  or  Wyoming,  on  a  running  race,  but  could 
not  find  anyone  to  take  up  his  offer,  so  he  ran  him  on 
time  and  won  a  considerable  sum  on  him. 

After  Mason's  death,  Billy  went  into  the  hands  of  a 
Mr.  Gline,  a  liveryman  of  Cheyenne,  and  Gline  was 
indebted  to  me  so  I  took  Billy  to  secure  myself.  I  found 
him  to  be  the  best  riding  animal  I  had  ever  rode  and  he 
had  all  the  gaits  of  a  Kentucky  trained  horse.  I  had  no 
use  for  a  horse  or  pony  and  sold  him  to  Mr.  Whitcome,  a 
cattle  raiser,  near  Greeley. 

I  then  concluded  to  return  to  Denver  to  live  and 
bought  a  home  on  Capitol  Hill,  some  distance  from  my 
place  of  business.  I  needed  a  horse  or  pony  and  looked 
for  something  to  please  me  but  after  two  month's  effort, 
could  find  nothing,  so  I  wrote  to  Mr.  Whitcome  to  see  if 
he  would  sell  Billy  back  to  me  and  he  said :  "I  do  not 
wish  to  part  with  him.  He  is  the  best  piece  of  horse, 
flesh  I  ever  saw,  and  I  own  many  horses." 

I  finally  prevailed  on  him  to  sell  him  back  to  me, 
and  he  sent  him  to  me.  He  was  thin  and  my  partner 
said:  "Is  that  the  wonderful  pony  you  have  described?" 
I  said  it  was,  and  that  he  was  all  I  said  for  him.  He 
seemed  to  know  everything  you  said  to  him  and  acted 
more  like  a  human  companion  than  an  animal.  He  was 
made  like  a  deer  and  carried  his  tail  as  though  he  were 
proud  of  it.     He  was  clean  in  his  habits,  always  ready  to 


—214— 

greet  me  in  his  way,  but  if  a  stranger  wanted  to  ride  him, 
he  would  try  to  bluff  him  with  every  sign  of  disapproval, 
feet,  head  and  ears,  but  not  viciously.  One  word  from 
me  settled  it.  He  seemed  to  say  ''All  Eight"  by  his 
acquiescence.  When  leading  him  he  would  have  his  head 
even  with  mine,  never  lagging  behind,  as  other  horses  do. 
While  in  the  mountains  I  wanted  to  cross  a  stream  which 
was  two  feet  deep  and  lead  him,  while  I  walked  a  log,  not 
suspecting  that  he  could  or  would  follow  on  the  log,  which 
he  did  like  a  goat. 

in  this  connection  I  will  say  that  I  dream  of  this 
pony  at  intervals,  ever  since  1  lost  him  twenty-four  years 
ago.  I  have  owned  some  twenty  horses  in  my  life,  but 
never  dreamed  of  any  but  him.  He  seems  as  real  as  life 
and  I  cannot  help  but  believe  that  all  animals  live  again 
in  a  future  state.  Is  it  reasonable  that  a  faithful,  intel- 
ligent horse  which  does  his  full  duty  even  more  fully  than 
man,  until  he  falls  dead,  has  no  right  to  continuity,  while 
man,  who  is  tricky  and  unfaithful,  may  continue  to  live, 
because  he  is  man?  Tliis  does  not  appear  of  great  wis- 
dom and  to  my  mind,  the  animal  in  many  kinds,  is  far 
superior  to  the  lower  grade  of  humanity,  that  grovels  in 
the  vilest  of  vile  habits. 

Nothing  can  sink  so  low  as  man,  or  become  so  repul- 
sive, and  even  educated  men  too,  whom  I  have  in  mind, 
that  were  full  of  vermin  and  befouled  themselves  so  that 
they  could  not  be  tolerated  in  the  house.  No  other  brute 
if  given  a  chance,  would  fall  so  far  below  his  fellows,  as 
man,  in  a  thousand  ways.  Then  why  should  he  be  enti- 
tled to  the  kingdom  and  a  harp  and  heaven? 

This  is  the  final  page  and  I  wish  all  my  friends  that 
may  scan  what  I  have  written,  may    overlook  my  short- 


—215— 

comings  as  a  man  and  fellow  traveler  through  this  world, 
as  I  did  not  make  myself  or  my  thoughts.  Through  the 
drift  of  things  I  came  into  being,  as  any  of  you  did,  and  I 
shall  pass  out  in  the  same  way.  From  whence  I  came  or 
whither  I  shall  go,  is  not  of  man  but  of  nature,  and 
nature  knows  its  business.     So  farewell,  my  friends. 

Yours  Respectfully, 

E.  L.  GALLATIN. 
Denver,  May  10th,  1900. 


^bbtj^ 


A3> 
/90V 


% 

;  f 


^ 


\ 


